A Night To Remember
by KennaWynters
Summary: Clint Barton needs someplace to lay low until his extraction. Coulson sends him to a nearby safe house where Clint finds himself drawn to the safe house keeper. This is a Clint Barton/Laura Barton origin story. (I suck with summaries)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Ok so this started out as an unfinished Clint Barton/Reader insert story that Ozhawk gifted to me for my birthday. After some discussion with her I decided to retweek her work to turn it into a Clint Barton/Laura Bartonorigin story.

Many thanks to Ozhawk for being an amazing Beta and helping me out with this. This chaoter is also _definitely_ NSFW.

* * *

Knock, knock. Laura stilled in her bedroom, she wasn't a hundred percent sure whether or not she'd heard what she thought she'd heard. It was eleven o'clock at night and she sure as hell wasn't expecting anybody. Padding silently on bare feet along the polished hardwood floors of her hallway as she reached the front door Laura was just about to brush it off as hearing things when a sudden pounding caused her to jump and let out a muted squeak.

"Who is it?" Laura called, rising onto her tiptoes to squint through the peephole, but it was a miserable foggy night and the bulb in the porch light was out so she couldn't make anything out.

"A far traveller," the words made Laura freeze up.

"And where have you come from, far traveller?" She gave the response to the code phrase after a noticeable pause.

"O'er the hills and far away."

It had been two years since Agent Coulson saved her life in a busy street, by shoving her suddenly aside. The bullet that Laura hadn't even known had been fired tore through her upper arm instead of through the middle of her chest. She'd spent the rest of the unexpected fire fight lying in the street, an innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time. Afterwards, Coulson had carried her off the street himself to an ambulance.

Laura hadn't expected to see any of the men in black again, but when she woke up in the hospital, Coulson had been sitting by the hospital bed. He'd just wanted to check she was okay. The debt she owed him was one she couldn't repay, so she'd offered the only thing she could: an anonymous safe haven if he ever needed one. He'd accepted the offer graciously and given her the code phrases, and honestly she'd had the feeling that he'd been humouring her and that the favour would never be called in.

"Are you going to let me in?" an exasperated voice said from outside, jerking Laura back to herself as she hastily unlocked and pulled the door open.

The man on her doorstep was bigger than her, broad-shouldered, but she couldn't really see any more of him because his face was shadowed by a black hoodie. He moved forward, checking over his shoulder, and Laura moved quickly out of the doorway to let him in. He pushed the door shut, securing the locks, and then leant back against it with a barely audible relieved sigh as he looked down at her from the shadowed hood. He had a large black bag slung over one shoulder and something long and thin that she couldn't quite make out over the other.

"You're Laura?" he asked in a low, raspy voice. "Are you alone?"

"Yeah. You're not Coulson."

"Duh," was the abruptly dismissive response she received. He seemed to also be checking her out. Laura crossed her arms defensively over her chest. It wasn't _her_ fault that he'd knocked on her door as she was getting ready for bed. She was wearing only a strappy tank top and thin yoga pants. "You'd open your door to Coulson dressed like that?"

Laura didn't dignify that with a response, but turned and walked away towards the kitchen. "Are you hurt? Hungry?" she threw back over her shoulder. He didn't make a sound, but she could sense him following her.

In the kitchen, she reached out and drew the blinds before switching on the light. When she turned Laura got her first good look at her _guest_ for the first time as he dumped his pack unceremoniously on the floor before reaching up to push his hood back, revealing short, dark-blond, spiky hair.

Laura's eyes were drawn first to the bow slung over his shoulder, and then to his face. The defined cheekbones, hard jaw, slightly smushed nose and slate-blue eyes piqued her curiosity and she found herself asking "So what do I call you? Since you know my name it seems only fair I get yours."

He appeared to contemplate her question, his brow furrowing slightly in what she assumed was thought before eventually his gravelly voice filled the silence. "Barrett, Cooper Barrett."

"Well Cooper, why…..why are you here?" Laura inwardly flinched at her stuttering, her only excuse being that he was so _gorgeous_. Filling up her kitchen with his masculine presence and – standing really quite close, closer to her than she'd realised as he unzipped his hoodie, pulling it off to reveal his black tactical gear underneath. Her gaze was drawn to his arms, his _very_ _muscular_ arms that were suddenly causing all manner of wicked thoughts to flare to life in the back of her mind.

"I need a safe place to hide out for a while until my extraction is arranged. Coulson sent me here."

"I, ah," Laura gulped as he unzipped the tactical vest and began to peel it off. "What are you _doing_?" As he tugged off the sleeveless t-shirt underneath as well, revealing a ridiculously muscular chest. Her voice had gone squeaky, and he grinned slowly, revealing straight white teeth.

"You asked if I was hurt." He turned to reveal a back just as defined with muscle, with a bloody scrape across his left shoulder blade.

"Oh." For a brief few moments there – well, Laura didn't quite know _what_ she was thinking. "I can help you with that." Moving to one of the cupboards she grabbed her first aid kit. As he sat down at the table she opened up the kit and rifled through the contents, gently cleaning the wound with an alcohol wipe Laura then placed a dressing on it.

"Thank you," he said softly as she finished and went to wash her hands. Laura was standing by the sink, drying her hands on a towel, when he suddenly moved up to stand behind her. "You have gentle hands," he murmured against her ear, bending his head. His lips very lightly brushed against her neck, and she couldn't suppress the shiver that rippled along her spine. "So soft," he whispered huskily. "Are you this soft everywhere, Laura?"

Laura couldn't move. She was pushed against the counter, his hips against hers, holding her in place, and she could very clearly feel that he was aroused. Warm hands landed lightly on her upper arms; his palms were callused and rough but his touch was gentle.

"Cooper?" she asked quietly. "What are you doing?"

"Do you want me to stop?" he answered her question with one of his own. His thumbs nudged at the straps of her tank top, drawing them downwards.

"N-no."

"Yeah?" A hot tongue flicked lightly at her earlobe, and then his hot mouth was trailing down her neck. It was ridiculously erotic when combined with the slow grind of his erection against her ass. "You're beautiful, I want you so bad," he whispered hotly in her ear. "Let me make love to you. I wanna give you the best night of your life."

It was a mistake to even consider this, Laura knew that; she was meant to offer a place to stay, nothing more, so why all of a sudden she was contemplating falling into bed with a complete stranger, albeit a seriously _hot_ stranger, was beyond her. Yet it had been so long since any man had piqued her curiosity and hunger.

"Yes," she gasped out, and a moment later his hands were on her breasts, plucking her tank top down further and rolling both nipples in his strong fingers.

"Christ, look at you. You have gorgeous boobs," he muttered hoarsely, and suddenly she was done with this not getting to see him shit. Laura pushed back against him with her ass, getting enough room to spin around and put her arms up around his neck. He grinned, and then frowned, the height differential annoying him, so he picked her up with his hands on her ass and set her on the kitchen counter, standing between her knees, pulling her hips forward so he could grind against her groin.

It was an even more intimate position than when he'd pressed up against her by the sink; he was visibly aroused through his combat pants. Laura's eyes widened as she looked down, and he gave her a cocky grin. "Like what you see?"

"Yeah…" she was still staring, impressed, when his hands ran gently into her hair, caressing the long strands, before he tilted her head up and pressed his mouth to hers.

He kissed wonderfully, his mouth hot and searching, his tongue duelling masterfully with hers, and she was so caught up in the kiss that she didn't even notice that he'd pulled her top up until he broke the kiss for a moment to bring it over her head. And then suddenly both of them were topless.

"Beautiful," he breathed, eyeing her breasts. And then he looked her in the eye, his slate-blue eyes blown with lust, just a narrow ring of colour around the black pupils. "You want this? Because I want to fuck you so bad right now."

"Yes," was about all Laura could manage to choke out, and then he was pulling her off the counter, dragging her yoga pants down, and letting out a choked groan when he realised that she wasn't wearing any panties underneath.

"Fuck, look at you!" he dropped to his knees right there on the kitchen floor, pushing her back against the counter again. "I've gotta have a taste."

He had a beautiful mouth, and watching him lick his lips as he eyed her suddenly had her getting very wet between her legs. He leant in, scenting her arousal, and then he grinned wickedly and put his hand behind her knee, lifting it over his shoulder so she was wide open to him.

Laura knew she should be embarrassed, that this should feel so _dirty_ , but then his tongue was on her, _in_ her, slurping and suckling, low moans coming from his throat. She had to brace her hands on the counter behind her to keep herself upright, and frankly she just totally didn't care about anything but the feel of his mouth right at that moment.

"You like that?" He pulled back and looked up at her, his lips and chin shiny and slick. "You taste fucking amazing, Laura," he said softly, sliding his hands up her legs.

"Shut up," suddenly she felt a bit more in control, "and have some more, then." Laura put one hand to his short blond hair and pulled him back in to her. He laughed, a low rumble of laughter that sent a shiver running through her, and came willingly, however this time as his tongue flicked over her clit, suddenly there were two fingers sliding up inside her as well.

"Hnnn!" a low keen escaped her lips, and he chuckled against her and added a third finger. They're callused and hard, and _fuck_ but he really knew what he was doing, because he was crooking them just right and his tongue was so hot…

Laura came so hard her whole body jerked, trembling, her back arching as she cried out. He groaned with pleasure, slurping and lapping up her juices, and then he was on his feet, dragging off the rest of his clothes, unveiling a seriously spectacular erection. Still recovering from that amazing climax, she couldn't help but stare, watching lustfully as he rolled a condom on. And then he came back, his hands sliding under her thighs lifting her, pressing slowly deep inside, a look of pure bliss on his handsome face.

"Oh, God," slipped from her lips as he drove deep, biting his lower lip in an effort not to be too rough. "Please, oh yes, oh please…"

"Gonna give you what you want," he muttered, his eyes unfocused, sweat breaking out on his hairline. "Fuck, you're so tight."

"No," Laura chokes out as he bottomed out inside her, grinding hard. "It's – _you're_ massive!" she uttered on a moan, rolling her hips down against him, he filled her so completely that it almost felt like her first time all over again.

His low chuckle by her ear sent another shiver rolling through her body, as he rocked forward enough to tease her his breath huffing out raggedly by her ear "Am…am I your first?"

Shaking her head slightly Laura had been about to answer when his hands inched higher along her thighs to alter the angle of her hips, easing half way out of her slick core he drove back in to her with a hard thrust which drew a low moan from her. As he rocked and ground against her Laura fought through the lusty haze in her head enough to gasp out "No, but it's been a while, and none of them were as big as you. Or quite as talented."

Her grip on the edge of the counter was so tight her knuckles were going white; leaning back Laura rested her elbows against the counter, a small grin curling her mouth when he groaned at the change in angle, his eyes darting to her breasts. All coherent thought flew right out the window again the moment he leant forward and closed that wicked mouth over one of her nipples, the sharp sting of his teeth had her arching her back with a gasp.

When he finally began moving with any semblance of a rhythm it was far too slow and teasing for her liking, so as he occupied himself with tugging and licking at her nipple she moved one hand from the counter up to the back of his head, carding her fingers in his short hair she tugged sharply, her brown eyes meeting slate-blue as he lifted his head from her breast. "Harder, faster, _please_?"

His guttural groan at her request sent sparks spiralling along her spine, as he leant over her to fasten his mouth against her throat Laura couldn't stop the wanton moan that slipped free, between his increased thrusts and the sensation of his teeth and mouth marring her tender skin her mind was lost to the pure, white hot lust coursing through her.

She could already feel her second climax building, his every thrust stroking her in just the right way to increase her pleasure; she wasn't going to last much longer and if she didn't miss her guess he wasn't far off himself, his rhythm becoming erratic. His next solid thrust combined with the sharp sting of his teeth had Laura shattering; crying out in pleasure as her back arched. His hoarse cry soon joined hers as he sank deep and joined her in the hazy mist of ecstasy.

After several, long minutes of heavy breathing and shuddering bodies Laura slowly emerged from the foggy haze with a low whimper as he eased back out of her, his movements triggering another wave of aftershocks through her body even as she was lifted to sit on the counter once more. She watched through half lidded eyes as he removed and disposed of the condom in the bin by her fridge; when he pulled open the fridge and bent over to examine the contents she was rewarded by the rather spectacular view of his bare sculptured ass.

"Beer, pizza and milk, really, that's all you've got in your fridge?" he asked in a teasing tone.

"There's Gatorade in the door, too," Laura shot back as she eased herself off the counter, she had to hold on to the edge for a good minute until her legs decided to work; crossing to the table she dropped heavily into the chair next to the one he'd settled in before continuing "I wasn't expecting late night visitors to come."

Popping the cap off one of the beers he turned to look at Laura with an arched brow, lifting the bottle to his lips he took a long draw of the beer before lowering it a wicked grin curving his mouth as he teased "Well this late night visitor is planning to come more than once, if that's alright with you?"

Well that proposition caught Laura completely off guard, blinking as she contemplated the offer she reached out to snag the bottle from his fingers, bringing it to her own lips with a small grin she tipped the bottle up to drink.

The familiar buzzing of his phone on the nightstand pulled Clint entirely from the light sleep he'd been in, squinting against the light piercing through the slightly ajar curtains he rolled over to fumble for the phone. Flipping it open he hastily read the message from Coulson before snapping it shut with a quiet groan as he set the phone back down.

He was running on only a couple of hours sleep, not that he actually minded all that much given the pleasurable way in which he'd spent most of the night. Rolling back over he curled around the form of his sleeping host. Clint still had a little time before he needed to leave to meet his extraction team and he intended to relish it while he could; the last thing he'd expected to find in the safe house Coulson had directed him to was this beautiful slip of a woman who'd answered the door.

Clint could almost picture himself starting a life with Laura. If his life was different he'd probably have gotten up the courage to ask her out, to go steady, move in together and eventually ask her to marry him. But his life _wasn't_ different, he was little more than a glorified assassin, and deep down he knew he had nothing to offer the gentle angel currently asleep in his arms, other than the pleasure he'd already given her anyway.

Reluctantly pulling back from Laura, Clint eased himself out of her bed and made his way out into the hall and into her bathroom, when they'd moved their escapades from the kitchen last night he'd dumped his belongings inside her bathroom first. He made short work of redressing in his tactical gear before moving back into the bedroom. Setting his gear by the door he crossed back to the tiny double bed, crouching down by Laura's head he reached out to gently brush her shoulder length dark brown hair back behind her ear. Leaning down he placed a soft kiss to her forehead before murmuring "Thank you, sweetheart."

As Laura murmured quietly in her sleep and turned her head into his hand Clint suddenly felt horribly guilty for ducking out on her without a proper goodbye. Stroking her hair gently he hummed quietly against her forehead till she settled again, the frown that had formed on her beautiful face falling away on a soft sigh as she snuggled back beneath her blankets.

After slinging his duffle over one shoulder and his bow over the other Clint paused in the doorway, midway through pulling the door shut, to take one last lingering look at Laura's sleeping form before closing the door and making his way out of her home and out of her life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Ok so I forgot to mention timelines here. I'm going with Chapter One occurring in December 2004. Laura is 21 and Clint is 24. This chapter is occuring in December of 2005.

* * *

The past twelve months had been full of ups and downs, starting from the night Cooper had arrived on her doorstep. Two months after that pleasure-filled night Laura had found out she was pregnant; it had been a shock that had made her sit down and re-evaluate where her life was heading. Shortly after deciding to go through with the pregnancy her boss had started to make unwanted advances at her which had inevitably resulted in her being fired after she'd broken his nose.

Her unemployment situation was resolved four months into her pregnancy when her new neighbour, a kindly woman who owned a diner, employed her as a waitress. In all that time Laura had always held onto some small sliver of hope that she'd see Cooper again, to be able to tell him in person of his son's existence, but as time had gone on she'd slowly started to realise that might never happen.

Laura had been in the process of getting her three month old son ready for bed when she heard the knock on her door, adjusting little Cooper on her hip Laura padded along the hall, her sock clad feet making no noise on the hardwood floor. Stopping by the door she asked "Who's there?"

"A far traveller," came a feminine voice from the other side of the door.

"And where have you come from, far traveller?" Laura hesitantly responded back.

"O'er the hills and far away."

Laura's free hand was already sliding the chain loose and flipping the lock, pulling the door open she got her first look at the woman standing on her front porch; she was probably an inch taller than Laura herself with long black hair. The other woman was currently looking back to the street, when she turned back to face Laura her dark brown eyes were expressionless, though Laura didn't miss the way one of her delicate brows cocked up curiously when her gaze landed on Cooper.

"Please, come in, if you need any assistance with injuries let me know, otherwise feel free to help yourself to anything from the fridge. I'll be with you as soon as I get my son settled," Laura turned and headed back down the hall to her room, before she stepped out of the hall she heard the door chain rattle and assumed that her guest had locked the door behind herself.

When Laura entered the kitchen five minutes later it was to the delicious aroma of cooking eggs, her _guest_ was standing at her stove staring intently at the pan before her as her voice carried quietly through the kitchen. "Coulson never mentioned that you had a young son."

"Because he doesn't know, I haven't seen or heard from Agent Coulson in three years; in fact you're only the second person to rock up on my doorstep with his code phrase. Would you care for some tea or coffee?" Crossing to the kettle Laura filled it from the tap before flicking the switch to set it boiling.

"Tea, please. I can't stand coffee."

As Laura set about making the tea she got the distinct impression that her guest wasn't really big on talking. As she was pouring the boiling water into the mugs to let the tea bags steep Laura wondered idly if she could get a message back to either Cooper or Coulson with the other woman.

Laura made the tea and set the mugs on the table with the sugar and milk before seating herself and stirring a teaspoon of sugar into her own mug.

"Miss, I was wondering is there any chance at all that you'd be able to get a message to either Agent Coulson or Cooper Barrett for me?" Laura asked quietly, looking up from her mug as the other woman sat down with her plate of eggs.

"Barrett? I don't recognise the name; could you describe him for me?"

Well that wouldn't be hard at all; Laura had seen his face in her dreams pretty much every night for the past twelve months. Taking a sip from her mug she prioritised the most important descriptors. "He's five ten, short dark-blond hair, slate-blue eyes, smushed nose that's possibly been broken at least once and a muscular build. He carried a bow and arrows."

Laura saw what she assumed was recognition flare in the other woman's eyes, albeit briefly before her expression fell back into the same blank facade as she casually asked "And the message?"

"I need to let Barrett know about his…. _our_ son." Laura admitted.

Whether or not there was a _look_ Laura wasn't sure, she did see the other woman's brow twitch slightly, though whether in curiosity or irritation was beyond Laura's ability to analyse at present.

"I'll see what I can do," her guest replied after what seemed like several long moments of silence.

"I appreciate whatever you can do. I'm exhausted so I'm going to head to bed. The couch is a pull-out, blankets and pillows in the chest by the window." Rising from the table Laura took her mug and made her way back to her room.

Moving through the base May waltzed casually into Coulson's office without a word and settled in the chair across from his desk, arching one brow she sat silently waiting for Coulson to look up from the pile of paperwork he was focused on.

When his blue eyes finally lifted to look at her May cocked her head slightly, her sharp eyes examining her friend and occasional partner. He looked tired and overworked, and suddenly she suspected that the message she was about to pass on would add to his worries. Clearing her throat she simply said "So, Barton knocked up your safehouse keeper."

Coulson wasn't entirely sure he'd heard that correctly and blinked in May's direction, setting down the folders that he'd been in the middle of perusing he closed his fingers together beneath his chin and asked "Say that again, May?"

"Your safehouse keeper, Laura, she has a young son, probably no more than three months old. She asked me to pass on a message to either you or Cooper Barrett; she wanted to let Barrett know about his… _their_ son, the description she gave for Barrett was 100% Barton. Bow and arrows. Pretty unmistakable."

May was studying Coulson's expression and saw the deep furrow form on his brow, leaning back in the chair she crossed one long leg over the other before continuing "She doesn't appear to have a lot of belongings for the kid, no cot, barely any toys, the highchair she has looks like it's seen better days. I think she's struggling Phil."

"It wouldn't be the first time she's struggled in her life, she's a fighter. Barton did stay there overnight last year, I appreciate you bringing this information to me, May."

May cocked her head slightly, studying Coulson. One brow arched upwards at the expression on his face, she'd seen the look before on more than one occasion. "I know that look, Phil, are you planning on meddling?"

"Assisting, not meddling. Besides, it's technically my fault she's in this situation; I _should_ have refused her offer of being a safe haven. I didn't need payment for saving her life."

"Phil, unless _you're_ the one who knocked her up this _isn't_ your fault. Barton is a grown man, who _should_ be quite aware of the risks associated with his actions, and it's not like he forced her. I saw the look she got when she was describing him; she was and probably still is attracted to him."

"Melinda, you and Andrew are still trying to expand your family, correct?" Coulson enquired as he watched her shift in the chair, her arms crossing over her chest as she stared silently at him.

"That your _not_ so subtle way of asking for my help, Phil?" The way he'd posed the question had clued her in to what he was trying to lead in to asking. With a slight shake of her head followed by a soft sigh she continued; "If you're thinking of going baby shopping for Laura, I'll help. But only because I don't want you buying her the wrong things; you're a great agent, Phil, but your personal shopping style leaves a lot to be desired."

"There's nothing wrong with my personal style," Coulson shot back while storing the files he'd been reading in his desk drawer.

"Except for the fact _everything_ you own clothing-wise is a suit, I'm also pretty sure your apartment is barely decorated and only has the absolute necessities," May tossed right back with a teasing grin. Rising gracefully from her chair she inclined her head towards the door. "Come on before I change my mind."

Laura was grateful for the warm afternoon breeze as she walked home from work; Cooper quite happily nestled in the second hand pram she'd purchased shortly before he'd been born. There were times she missed her car, namely whenever it was cold or wet, but she'd been forced to sell it after coming to the realisation that she wouldn't be able to afford to keep getting it fixed after Cooper's birth.

Stopping at her neighbour's driveway Laura frowned at the rental truck parked in her driveway; she debated for a couple of minutes over what to do. In the end however, her decision was made for her when Cooper started to wake with the soft whimpering noise he usually made when he was hungry.

As Laura was pushing the pram up the footpath towards her front door she saw two figures stepping out onto the porch. The shorter of the two she recognised as the woman who'd stayed two nights ago and the other was a figure she'd not seen in three years. "Agent Coulson, have you taken to breaking and entering now in order to visit?"

"No, _that_ was to deliver essentials for your not so new addition," Coulson said with a sigh, his blue eyes watching Laura as she turned at the bottom of the steps to drag the pram up onto the porch. Stepping away from May, Coulson came around beside Laura and reached out to help her get the pram up the stairs as he continued "I wish you'd have called me sooner, I'd have been around to help out more."

"Didn't have a number for you, nor for Cooper," Laura murmured as she reached down into the pram to lift little Cooper out, blinking as Coulson leant down to retrieve the diaper bag from beneath it as she continued "Besides, I doubt there was much you could have done."

Suddenly registering the first part of what Coulson had said Laura looked at him strangely as she asked "Wait, what _essentials_ exactly?"

"Crib, change table, pram, toys, clothes, you know, the baby essentials." Coulson said as he slung the diaper bag over his shoulder, taking in Laura's stunned expression as she adjusted the little boy in her arms.

"I can't afford to repay you for any of that," Laura uttered even as Coulson's hand settled on her lower back to guide her into the house.

"Laura, there's no expectation of repayment. If C-Cooper had known," there was definitely a slight hesitation on Cooper's name, but Coulson recovered and carried on, "he'd have done this himself. Whether or not you wanted him in your life, he's not a man to run out on his child."

He was speaking as though Cooper wouldn't be around, and Laura bit her lip. "He – he's dead, isn't he?"

"What? No!" Coulson started back. "He's deep undercover on a mission right now and I can't get in touch without jeopardising his safety. But once he's out, I will be letting him know straight away, and it's highly likely he'll be on your doorstep as soon as he can get here. I wish I could give you a timeframe, but unfortunately I have no idea. His mission will take as long as it takes, it might be over in a week or it might be six months."

Laura was looking around her living room incredulously even as Cooper made increasingly cranky noises in her arms. There was a brand-new, top of the line pram parked to one side, a huge box beside it with toys spilling out of it. Walking into Cooper's room she found tears welling in her eyes as she looked at the beautiful solid timber crib and matching chest of drawers with change table on top.

"Coulson, this is too much," she managed to get out through her tight throat.

"Oh, don't say that. It took May and I nearly an hour to assemble the cot inside here. We'd have to take it apart again to get it out the door. Those things are _complicated_."

Laura found herself chuckling weakly at his droll expression. Cooper chose that moment to protest that his dinner was well and truly overdue and screamed his head off.

"I need to feed him," she gestured apologetically, "but please, won't you stay, have coffee with me…"

Coulson shook his head. "We have to go." He pressed a card into her fingers. "If you need anything, Laura, anything at all – call me."

Nodding as her fingers tightened around the card she gave Coulson a shaky smile, adjusting Cooper who was now squirming in addition to screaming. "I will, Agent Coulson, and thank you, this means more to me and my son than you can ever know."

Laura settled into the new large rocking chair in the nursery as she heard the front door close and the truck outside rumble to life, unbuttoning her light weight shirt she settled Cooper in to feed, smiling as he began to suckle hungrily. She stroked his fluffy blond hair gently, humming quietly.

"Maybe you'll get to meet your daddy one day after all, darling," she whispered softly.

It was little more than a week later when Coulson got the call, he'd been _temporarily_ distracted from his paperwork looking at a photo of Cooper. May had managed to take the photo at some point while he'd been talking to Laura. Barton had accomplished his mission; he'd gotten the intel they needed earlier than anticipated and it appeared had once against gotten himself hurt in the process. Reckless idiot that he was. Well, perhaps someone to look out for besides himself might make Barton take a little more care for his safety.

Collecting the image and the small zip lock bag with a strand of the young child's hair, which he'd managed to acquire from Laura's shirt just in case it happened to be needed, Coulson rose from his desk and exited his office headed towards medical where Barton was being treated.

He was definitely going to be having words with Barton about the idiotic risks the younger man took during his assignments; it appeared to be becoming a bad habit of his to return from assignments in worse shape than when he'd left.

As he entered the medical wing it wasn't hard for Coulson to find which room Barton was being treated in; the younger man seemed to have an acute fear of anything medical. The moment he saw one of the young nurses flee rapidly from a room at the end of the hall that was precisely where he headed; stepping into the room he was met by the sight of an agitated, injured archer trying to rid himself of the monitoring cables and IV lines.

"Barton, stand down before you hurt yourself _further_ ," Coulson huffed out irritably, he suspected by the time he was walking out of medical he'd be in for at least a headache.

Clint's hand stilled, he'd been just about to pull the IV from his arm but turned his attention to Coulson instead. His handler stood just in the doorway, an envelope in one hand as the other pinched at the bridge of his nose. He _knew_ that look on Coulson's face; that was the look he normally wore right before Clint got benched for whatever half-assed stunt he'd pulled.

"It looks worse than it is, Boss man," Clint threw out, it sounded weak even to his own ears, especially given his split lip, the cut above his eye and the bruise to his cheek, and that was just the injuries Coulson could actually see.

"Barton, you're not setting one foot outside this room until the doctors have told me you're cleared to leave. In the meantime, I suggest you get comfortable because you and I need to have a talk."

Frowning as he settled back on the bed his eyes locked on Coulson, Clint couldn't shake the thought that the last sentence sounded foreboding; he tried to rack his brain to figure out what he could have done wrong this time. When nothing came to mind he slowly drawled "Ohhhkay?"

Watching as Coulson pulled the wheeled stool across and sat down Clint felt a weight settle in the pit of his stomach, his eyes darted to the envelope Coulson set down on the table.

"Do you recall the night, a little over twelve months ago, Barton, that you spent in my off the books safe house?"

Clint knew he was grinning; his split lip suddenly tingling told him as much, what kind of a question was that anyways? Of course he remembered _that_ night, Laura had proved to be utterly impossible for him to forget; to this day she still lingered in his dreams. When he could sleep, anyway.

He still remembered the feel of her soft skin beneath his calloused fingers, the quiet mewls and whimpers he'd coaxed out of her with his fingers and mouth, but most importantly he remembered the way her pliant body had moved with his.

"Yeah, I remember. Laura Matthews was the host," Clint had to wonder why exactly Coulson was bringing this up, he'd given Laura a false name to protect her as much as him but if something had happened to her because of him, well Clint didn't know what exactly he'd do, so he asked hesitantly "What's going on, Coulson? Did something happen to her?"

"You could say that," Coulson replied with one brow arching upwards as Clint suddenly stiffened, his hands balling into fists. Reaching for the envelope Coulson opened it and pulled out the photo, handing it to Clint with the image side down he continued, "You, uh, left something behind."


	3. Chapter 3

"Excuse _me_ ," Clint said indignantly, "I did _not_ leave anything behind, I'm very careful with my equip…" He stopped speaking in mid-word.

"Apparently, you're not as careful with your _equipment_ as you should be." Phil's voice was dust-dry.

Clint stared open-mouthed at the photo, the round-faced, blue-eyed blond baby leaning on Laura's shoulder. "That's not possible," he said weakly at last. "I used condoms. Mine from the field kit, and then she had some when we ran out."

Phil's eyebrows shot up. "You needed more than the four in the field kit? No!" he held up his hands. "I don't want details."

Clint's jaw firmed, and Phil just knew he was going to say something mulish and stupid. "I'm telling you I was careful. It's not mine."

" _It_ is a little boy Laura named _Cooper_. He was born exactly nine months after your night at the safe house. I checked."

It just couldn't be possible, he _was_ careful; though he hadn't exactly thoroughly checked each condom before disposing of it, he assumed it would have been obvious if one had been leaking. No, Coulson was wrong, he _had_ to be. This kid _couldn't_ be his; he technically wasn't much more than a kid himself according to Fury, even at age twenty-five.

"But how can you be _sure_ , Coulson? For all we know she could have been with someone else the next night, or she could be some kind of infiltrator trying to get SHIELD intel, or trying to blackmail us."

Clint knew his excuses were weak even before Coulson just stared at him, his expression blank. Dropping his gaze back to the photo Clint idly brushed his thumb reverently over Laura's face before hovering uncertainly over the little boy she held.

"Because I highly doubt Laura almost got herself killed three years ago simply to insert herself into a position to be able to gather SHIELD intel," Coulson said evenly as he reached again into the envelope, his hand emerging with a ziplock bag as he continued "however I figured you'd say something like that, so I collected a hair sample from Laura's little boy for a paternity test."

Frowning as he lifted his gaze from the photo Clint glanced to the bag in Coulson's hand, his thoughts were chaotic at best as he tried to figure out if he actually wanted to have a paternity test done or simply believe Coulson and Laura. From his first impression of her, Clint doubted Laura would lie about something like this but he needed to know for certain; if Cooper was _his_ son then both the boy and Laura could be targets for his enemies.

"Do it," he waved one hand at the bag Coulson held before clarifying "the test, do it. I need to know for sure, if it's true both of them could be in danger."

Settling back against the pillow as Coulson left, to arrange the DNA test Clint assumed, his gaze returned to the picture as he traced lightly around Laura and Cooper's faces.

After arranging with one of the lab analysts to do the paternity test Coulson had then stopped by the doctor's office and enquired about the extent of Barton's injuries. What he'd found out had been worse than he'd first thought. Aside from the apparent injuries to his face the doctor had told him that Barton had at least four cracked ribs with several more bruised, a minor fracture to the wrist of his bow arm and traces of malnourishment and fatigue.

He already knew his recommendation to Fury would be mandatory leave for no less than two months; the younger agent needed time to heal and recuperate, preferably away from the base. Barton had a history of spending his leave on base in the shooting range with his bow, so Coulson needed to figure out a way to get him off base, and he suspected the best spot for Barton to recover was at Laura's house.

When he re-entered the room Coulson had been about to speak when his eyes fell upon the strangest sight he'd ever seen, Barton was lying back against the pillow, his eyes closed, clutching the picture firmly yet gently to his chest. Looking over the other agent, Coulson was pretty sure this was the first time he'd ever seen the younger man looking so relaxed and peaceful, especially while confined to medical.

Twenty-four hours after his conversation with Coulson, Clint found himself under direct orders _not_ to set foot on _any_ SHIELD base or go near any active mission for two whole months. Coulson had reluctantly allowed him to pack his bow and quiver in a weapon case to take with him; he'd loaded the case and his duffle bag into his pickup truck before climbing into the cab.

His injured wrist was currently in a brace and his arm in a sling so he was grateful that his truck was an automatic and not a stick since he'd been driving for several hours now. The first couple of hours after Coulson delivered his orders Clint had spent trying to figure out exactly _where_ he was going to go. SHIELD was his home; he lived on base when he wasn't out on missions and now that he suddenly wasn't allowed on base he had absolutely nowhere to go.

As he'd been leaving Coulson had slipped him an envelope; it hadn't been until he'd stopped for food that Clint had opened it to find the single sheet of paper with the results of the paternity test, which had all but determined his course. Currently Clint sat in his idling truck on the side of the road a little ways down from Laura's house, he wasn't a hundred percent certain this was a good idea and he had no idea how Laura would react to his presence.

Sparing a glance to the sheet of paper resting on the seat by his leg Clint steeled himself as he eased the truck down the street. It was early evening and his gaze darted about the street, taking note of the people coming and going. The last time he'd been here he'd been leaving in the early hours of the morning, and the weather had been miserable and foggy enough that he'd barely been able to see a foot in front of his face.

Turning into Laura's driveway, Clint eased his truck to the end of it and threw it into park before shutting the engine off. Reaching up, Clint unfastened the sling and eased his arm free of it; he tossed it into his duffle bag as he slid out of the cab.

Moving up onto the porch Clint found a strange sensation churning low in his stomach. Lifting his good hand he knocked thrice on the door and waited. After several long minutes he knocked again, this time he was acknowledged by Laura's voice murmuring "Who is it?"

The quiet lilt of Laura's voice sounded tired and he suspected he'd just woken her; recalling the code phrase Clint drawled "A far traveller."

He heard the hurried rattling of the door chain being pulled free followed by the door lock clicking moments before the door swung open, a grin formed on his lips as Clint's eyes swept over Laura's face. Before he could say a word Laura was flying at him, her body colliding with his knocking the wind from his cracked and bruised ribs as she gasped "Cooper!"

Gingerly wrapping his arms around Laura, Clint winced at the alias as it slipped free of her tempting lips, he couldn't resist the urge to brush a kiss against her forehead as she hugged him fiercely. Looking down into her brown eyes, Clint watched as her excitement slowly faded, her lips pursing as she stepped back, her eyes flickering over his face before settling on the brace about his wrist.

"Oh God, what happened? Shit, where are my manners, come in," she muttered hastily and stepped out of the doorway to allow him entry.

Crossing the threshold into her house Clint released a shaky breath and figured now was a good time to come clean, at least if she decided she wanted him out of the house he didn't have far to go. "Ah, yeah Laura, about that. My name isn't really Cooper Barrett; it's actually Clint, Clint Barton. I didn't mean to lie to you; I thought I was protecting the both of us – and I was undercover, not allowed to tell you my real name at the time anyway."

"You used an alias?" Laura said so quietly Clint was certain he caught confusion and wariness in her tone, her voice wavering slightly as she continued "I….named our son Cooper, after his father, I thought."

"I know, Coulson told me. That's why I'm here, I'm on medical leave to recuperate for a while so I figured I'd come see you to meet him?" Clint knew his voice sounded uncertain and he could see by the look on Laura's face she was wary, her eyes flicked from him to the first door a little ways down the hall.

As Laura opened her mouth to say something to him a loud cry echoed along the hallway, Clint watched as her gaze darted from him to the first bedroom. With a sigh she turned and headed into the room.

"Hey, baby," he heard her soft voice saying, "perhaps it's for the best that you didn't want to go to sleep yet. Your daddy's here to meet you. Yes he is, my love." There was a slight hint of strain to the last few words, and he guessed she'd picked the child up. The churning in his gut increased and for a moment Clint wondered if he was going to vomit.

And then she was there in the doorway, holding the baby he'd seen in the photograph Coulson gave him. The blond, blue-eyed child very much unlike Laura's dark-haired, dark-eyed loveliness – but exactly as Clint remembered _he'd_ looked in the one family photo he knew about. The one that Barney had kept, their mom and dad standing together, Barney standing between their parents, Clint held in his mother's arms.

"My son," he whispered incredulously, staring at the baby.

Cooper suddenly hid his face against Laura's neck, snuffling slightly.

"He's tired and grumpy," Laura apologised, "didn't want to go to sleep, though."

"It's okay." Clint didn't know what to do with his hands, so he stuffed them in his pockets and just stared.

"Would you like to hold him?" Laura asked gently, seeing Clint's obvious nerves.

"I – never held a baby before."

"It's not so hard. You just have to make sure you support the head. Cooper's strong but he does still wobble a little when he's tired."

She wasn't leaving him any choice, was coming straight at him, holding the child out for him to take. Clint very nearly panicked and bolted, but somehow there was a warm weight against his chest, Laura positioning Cooper so that his braced wrist was lightly supporting the child's head, his other arm taking the weight.

Staring into sleepy blue eyes, Clint melted. "My son," he whispered softly, fingers caressing the downy blond hair on the back of Cooper's head.

Laura smiled, looking at the two of them together. "He's so very like you," she said quietly. "I didn't know if I'd ever see you again, but I could never forget what you looked like, because he's going to grow up your living image."

Cooper let out a sudden burp, leaned his head against Clint's shoulder and closed his eyes contentedly. Laura shook her head fondly. "Stubborn little devil. Wouldn't settle for me. Come in here, you can put him down."

There was a lovely timber crib in the bedroom, and Laura helped Clint ease Cooper down onto the mattress, gently drawing a light cotton blanket over the baby. Cooper never opened his eyes, and Laura slipped her hand into Clint's, drawing him quietly from the room and closing the door.

"Come into the kitchen," she said quietly. "We can talk there."

He remembered the kitchen. Oh, how he remembered the kitchen, remembered pushing Laura up against that counter, right there, remembered how she'd tasted, the sounds she'd made as he fucked into her…

"Tea or coffee?" Laura asked, interrupting the pornographic memory replay Clint was indulging in.

"Ah, coffee, I've been driving for a while and would like to stay awake as we talk," Clint replied, his gaze wandering of its own accord back to the counter by the sink.

Glancing across to Laura, he _knew_ she'd caught him staring at the counter by the slight flush he saw on her cheeks moments before she looked back to the two mugs. Crossing to the table he pulled out one of the chairs and eased down into it, the dull throbbing ache in his wrist and ribs just starting to get to him.

His good hand reached into the pocket of his jeans, pulled out the bottle of pain killers and began fumbling to try and open the childproof seal. Clint was about to throw the bottle across the room in frustration when soft hands reached out and took the medication from his grasp.

Looking up to Laura's face as she lifted the bottle to read the label, he watched silently as her eyes shot from the bottle to his, narrowing slightly as she frowned and easily twisted the lid off to tip out his required dosage while asking "These aren't low dose pain killers Clint, so what the hell happened to you?"

Taking the pills from Laura's offered palm Clint popped them into his mouth and washed them down with a mouthful of the fresh coffee, reaching out he caught her retreating hand and closed his fingers lightly around it as he mumbled "That's classified, all I can tell you is the extent of the injuries I'm sporting. Worst of which is the fractured wrist and a few bruised and cracked ribs."

Clint watched those beautiful brown eyes widen as she sucked in a sharp breath, her fingers briefly tightening around his as she murmured "Before at the door, I hurt you didn't I?"

"Little bit, but its okay 'cause that was definitely the most enthusiastic greeting I've ever gotten," Clint answered quietly.

He was rewarded by Laura's cheeks flushing once again; lifting her hand to his lips Clint brushed a kiss against her knuckles as she settled in the chair beside him. By the expressions currently flitting across Laura's face, Clint knew he needed to change the topic.

"But my injuries weren't what we came in here to discuss, remember?"

"No, they weren't," Laura agreed quietly, her gaze flicking back to the sink momentarily before continuing "I'm suddenly thinking this isn't the best place to have a serious conversation, given what occurred the last time we were both in here."

"Actually seems kinda fitting to me, since what happened in here is why we're here now and why _our_ son exists," Clint replied, while studying Laura's profile. Letting her dwell on that for a moment or two he eventually added "I'd like to get know more about you, Laura, if that's okay. You're the mother of my child, you lingered in my mind anyway after that amazing night together and I'd like the chance to do right by you….and Cooper, if you'll let me?"

Laura turned her head to look at Clint, blinking so slowly that he assumed she was replaying his words. The kitchen sat silent for several _long_ minutes, Clint contenting himself to simply listen to the quiet sound of Laura's breathing to soothe his nerves until eventually she murmured "Clint, is that your way of saying you want to _date_ me?"

"Umm, yes?" Clint muttered sheepishly as he rubbed at the back of his neck, he already suspected Laura had embedded herself in his heart that night and _knew_ without a doubt he wanted her and his son in his life as a permanent fixture.

"If that's too fast for you though, I'm willing to be friends?" Clint stammered in an effort to break the deafening silence that had descended upon the kitchen.

"Clint, _fast_ is fucking me senseless in my kitchen not even an hour after arriving," Laura quipped.

"I didn't hear you objecting," Clint retorted.

"Well when you're in a desert and dying of thirst you don't exactly refuse to drink when you stumble over an oasis," Laura mumbled quietly as she nudged at Clint's arm before she spoke again. "You said you were on medical leave, but didn't say for how long. Do you have some place to stay?'

"At the moment it's for two months, but given the fact Coulson banned me from stepping foot on base before that before that time is up I don't currently have anywhere to go. Hence my decision for a road trip to come see you and Cooper," Clint stated with a slight shrug.

"Well, I have a pull out couch that you're welcome to use for as long as want. If you really are serious about getting to know Cooper and I better, at least you'll be close by," Laura offered.

"You'd do that, let me stay here? Even after I lied about who I was when I was here last?" Clint asked in disbelief as he looked into concerned warm brown eyes, heard the scrape of her chair as she dragged it closer to his.

Her free hand settled on his knee as she leant in by his ear to whisper "Well, given that you used Coulson's phrase, I knew you worked for or with him so it was really a fifty-fifty chance of getting your actual name. Either way you _are_ the father of my son and it'd be nice to have some adult company in the house."

"You might regret offering, Coulson often jokes that I'm a bad penny you can't get rid of," Clint quipped. A shiver ran down his spine from Laura's breath tickling his ear as she laughed, moments later he felt her soft lips pressing a light kiss against his slightly stubbled cheek.

"Well, that's one thing I don't think I'll be complaining about. How about you go grab what gear you brought with you, then you come give me a hand to get dinner going and we can start getting to know each other better?" Laura asked quietly.

"Hmm, what's for dinner? Cause I'll tell you right now I can't cook for shit," Clint apologised.

"Well, unlike the last time you were here my fridge is properly stocked. I have ingredients to do cooked vegetables or salad, then you have a choice of Lasagne that I brought home from work or cold roast beef," Laura tapped her fingers against his knee as she checked each item off.


	4. Chapter 4

Clint had been lying on the couch staring at the ceiling (another reason why he usually avoided taking painkillers, they had a tendency to keep him awake) replaying the events of the evening; he'd been surprised about how easy and relaxed it had been to help Laura prepare dinner.

He'd never been big on the whole domestic scene, just ask Coulson who constantly lectured Clint for leaving his dirty dishes in his office, yet he'd not only helped Laura prepare dinner but had also helped with the dishes (and that had been an effort and a half with his mind providing vivid flashbacks). And it had been… nice.

Clint was just reliving the way Laura had smiled at him when he bid her goodnight when he heard the sudden muffled cry coming from Cooper's room. Kicking the sheet and blanket off Clint forced himself off the pull-out bed, he'd seen how exhausted Laura had looked over dinner and wanted to do what he could to let her get some rest.

Padding on bare feet through the lounge and into his son's room, the dim moonlight filtering in through the blinds lit the room enough for Clint to cross to the lamp resting near the large rocker. After clicking it on he moved to the crib and reached in carefully to lift Cooper out; making certain he had his hands positioned as Laura had shown him earlier he cradled Cooper against his chest.

Brushing a kiss to the soft blond curls on his son's head Clint began to hum quietly, his hand not supporting the back of Cooper's head rubbed lightly at the little boy's back as he bounced gently moving towards the window. Turning back towards the door Clint stopped as he saw Laura standing in the doorway, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before they finally focused on him and Cooper lifting his mouth from the little boy's head Clint murmured "I got this, go on back to bed."

"Unless your nipples have magically developed the ability to produce milk, Clint, no, you don't _got this_. He's hungry, and he won't go back to sleep until he's been fed."

Clint had been about to speak as Laura stepped into the room; he watched in shocked awe as she reached up and unfastened catches at the top of her singlet top as she settled in the rocker; his eyes dropped of their own accord to her bared breasts as she reached out for Cooper.

"Uh, your breasts are bigger," Clint muttered as he carefully passed Cooper over.

"That happens when you effectively become a milk factory," Laura joked as she settled Cooper against her breast to feed.

Dropping to his knees by the rocker Clint watched transfixed as Cooper nuzzled into Laura's chest, crossing his arms on the arm of the rocker Clint rested his chin atop them. He was a breast man; he wasn't ashamed to admit it, but to watch his son suckling at the same breasts he'd been devoting attention to just over a year ago was a little distracting.

As fixed on the scene as Clint was he didn't feel the light brush of fingers through his hair, at least not until there was a slight tug that had his gaze rapidly flying up to look into Laura's dark brown eyes. Feeling his cheeks heat slightly, Clint was grateful for the dim lighting as he muttered "Sorry, I probably should leave you to it."

"It's okay, Clint, just remember my eyes are up here," Laura mumbled sleepily, shifting a little in the chair to get comfortable. Her movements roused Cooper from her breast with a disgruntled huff, as Clint's low rumble of laughter filled the silence and Cooper settled back to her breast to continue feeding she added "He is a _lot_ like you, he doesn't like to take his attention away from my breasts."

"Well, I can't fault his taste, I recall them being delicious, though I think he's getting more out of them than pure satisfaction," Clint quipped with a grin. Laura's soft laugh as she tugged firmly at his hair in retaliation had Clint turning his head to nip at the skin of her inner arm before grunting "Hey, don't bare the goods if you can't stand the attention they garner."

"I don't usually have a captive audience when I feed him, let alone one who looks like he'd rather join the party," Laura sassed as her eyes fluttered closed briefly.

"That an offer?" Clint asked.

"You're incorrigible," Laura giggled. As Cooper snuffled and whined she moved him over to her other breast, stroking the back of his head lightly.

"Does it hurt? You know, when he feeds?" Clint inquired, his eyes dropping back down to where Cooper settled back to his meal.

"No, it actually hurts more if he doesn't feed in a while. The milk builds up to the point where my breasts get hard and sore; it doesn't ease unless he feeds or I extract the milk with the breast pump," Laura drawled lazily. As she blinked slowly, attempting to get her eyes to focus on Clint's face in the dim light, she added "I'm sorry if he woke you by the way, I probably should have warned you that he doesn't sleep through the night yet."

"It's fine, he didn't," Clint responded quietly. Reaching over Cooper, Clint grasped the panel of Laura's singlet and brought it back up over her breast to clip it back into place adding "I was already awake, side effect of the pain killers which is partly why I generally don't take them."

"Partly? What is the rest of the reason as to why you don't take them?" Laura asked softly, moving her fingers gently through Clint's hair.

"The longer I'm on them the more my senses dull and I lose my focus. I'd rather be clear headed and in pain so that I can focus on my work, than be cloudy and pain free," Clint replied, unconsciously tilting his head into Laura's fingers.

"What is it that you do exactly, Clint? I know you work for Coulson who is some kind of government agent and that the answer will probably be classified, but I can't help but be curious," Laura whispered. She could tell Cooper was almost finished, his suckling was slowing and his little body was becoming heavier as he began to doze but she also didn't want to disturb this scene.

"I mean, I know Coulson said you were deep undercover when he was here so I gather you're some kind of agent?" Laura stammered, wincing inwardly at the slight tremor she'd heard in her own voice. She knew Clint had heard it too if the way he was staring at her was any indication, taking a steady breath she continued. "I guess what I'm _really_ asking is exactly _how_ dangerous is your job?"

In all honesty, Clint had been waiting for this question to pop up, that being said he _hadn't_ expected it to pop up while Laura was breastfeeding his son in front of him. Taking a few moments to consider his answer Clint sighed softly before muttering "I won't lie, Laura, my job isn't exactly safe. In fact in the past, I've been far too reckless and usually wind up risking my life, but that was when I had nothing to live for."

Watching Laura's face Clint couldn't quite read her expression, in the dim lighting he wasn't sure whether or not there were unshed tears welling in her eyes, lifting one hand up he tentatively stroked his fingers over her cheek before cupping it. "You changed that, you have given me something I never even knew I wanted in the form of our son. You've given me a family, but at the same time my past and my job has left me with scars, both physical and emotional, as well as enemies who would use the both of you to get at me."

"That sounds a little bit like you're rethinking the idea of getting to know us," Laura stammered quietly as she turned her head into the calloused fingers resting on her cheek.

"Hell no, you've been embedded here," Clint removed his hand from Laura's cheek, bringing it up to touch his temple first and then down to rest over his heart as he continued "and here ever since that night. Then Coulson dropped the bombshell of Cooper and he joined you. The only thing I'm thinking of currently is the best way to protect you from the shit storm that _was_ my previous life and _is_ my job. I haven't had a _proper_ family since I was eight years old and even then it was hardly idyllic. I don't know what a happy family should even look like, Laura." His eyes dropped to his sleeping son, Cooper's head lolling back against Laura's arm now, before he looked back up at Laura's face. "But – I think maybe it looks something like this."

Laura had been surprised by how quickly Clint had been picking up parenting skills over the past week, he'd wanted to learn how to look after Cooper and she hadn't the heart nor will to refuse his request. So she'd started simple, with how to change a diaper, and had moved on from there. Just yesterday she'd shown Clint how to bath him and ended up bursting into laughter at the shocked look on Clint's face as Cooper had started peeing.

Clint had even offered to look after Cooper for her during the day while she was at work, which Laura had greatly appreciated. He'd arrive at the diner with Cooper in the stroller half an hour before Laura was due to finish so that they could walk home together. Of course the first day he'd done that meant she'd had to introduce him to her work colleagues and that had been difficult, she'd stalled midway through trying to figure out what to call him when he'd finished her introduction with _Cooper's father_.

As they'd parted company last night, after they'd finished watching Disney's Robin Hood (honestly she _still_ couldn't believe Clint had never seen it before) Laura had heard Clint talking quietly into his cell phone, moving into her room she'd partly closed the door so as not to eavesdrop on his conversation and had crawled into bed for some well deserved rest.

When she'd woken this morning Clint had already been gone, a note left on the fridge telling Laura he'd be back later, so she'd gone about her day. Since it was her day off Laura went about cleaning the house, not that it was that dirty, she just wanted to do a quick run of the vacuum over the carpet and hallways.

She was in the process of transferring the pile of clothes from the washer into the dryer when she heard the front door open and shut, switching the dryer on Laura grabbed the basket of washing she'd just pulled from the dryer. As she was moving through the kitchen Laura heard faint voices coming from the lounge; stepping into the room Laura stopped suddenly as her eyes fell upon Clint and the woman who'd stayed here a couple of weeks ago.

"Oh, sorry I didn't realise you had company Clint. It's nice to see you again May, wasn't it?" Laura let the question hang in the air; she hadn't gotten the woman's name the last time she'd been here but was almost certain Coulson had referred to her as May. As she waited Laura set the basket on the arm of the chair, lifted Clint's washing out and set it on the chair.

"It's good to see you again too, Laura. Yes, I'm May."

Cool dark eyes were studying Laura's every movement, examining the pile of laundry. Laura was quite sure the other woman missed absolutely nothing.

"Tea?" Laura offered, turning and heading back towards the kitchen.

"Thank you," May said, following her. Clint didn't come with them.

"So, are you here to check up on me or on Clint?" Laura asked bluntly as she switched the kettle on.

"A little of both," May stated as she propped herself against the counter, her eyes tracking Laura's movements as she collected the mugs and tea bags. Eventually she added "Coulson wanted to make sure Barton was following orders, he was concerned that Barton might have ignored his instructions to rest and recuperate."

Pouring the water into both mugs Laura left the tea to steep as she turned to face May, propping her hip against the counter she cocked her head thoughtfully. Crossing her arms over her chest she contemplated the best way to answer before eventually saying "He is. Clint's been here for a week now. He didn't have anywhere to stay so I offered him my couch while he gets to know his son; tell Coulson he's been resting and not over exerting himself. I've also been making sure he takes his meds when he's in pain."

"Wait, say that again. You got him to _take_ his pain killers?" May asked incredulously.

Turning back to the mugs Laura removed the tea bags; dropping them into the sink she stirred the tea before picking up both mugs. Shifting from the counter to the table Laura eased into one of the chairs setting one of the mugs by another chair as she waited for May to take a seat.

"He's _that_ bad at taking them? I thought he was kidding," Laura muttered quietly before taking a sip of her tea.

"He's the worst, normally we have to force them down his throat or make sure he gets a shot. Neither of which is a fun experience by the way," May supplied as she settled in the chair and lifted her mug.

Humming quietly Laura watched May over her mug; the older woman's dark brown eyes were alight with something Laura couldn't quite put her finger on. The look May gave her in return gave Laura the impression there was something else going on here which prompted her to blurt out "You're not just here to check on Clint, are you?"

"That was originally the plan, but when I spoke to him last night to clarify I was heading to the right place he called in a favour," May answered cryptically.

"Well that's not at all foreboding," Laura quipped before taking another sip from her mug.

"What's not foreboding?" Clint inquired as he stepped into the kitchen and crossed to the fridge.

"May's cryptic answer about you calling in a favour," Laura tossed back as she glanced over her shoulder to where Clint was bent over rummaging through the fridge.

"Well, see, I had a problem that I needed to solve, and when May here called me last night the answer suddenly became apparent," Clint muttered from within the fridge.

"Ok? Am I going to be getting any clarity at all on what's going on here?" Laura huffed and set her mug down, her eyes flicking back to May who was smirking.

"Not my place to answer, I'm afraid," May piped up, her dark brown eyes flicking to Clint momentarily before she added "I'm just the babysitter."

"Babysitter," Laura squeaked as she twisted to look at Clint, who'd emerged from her fridge with a bottle of water, she added "Why do we need a babysitter?"

"Because you need a break away from Cooper where you're not working and I have every intention of taking you on a proper date. Hence, babysitter," Clint cocked his head and nodded towards May.

Laura had been just about to point out that she _didn't_ in fact need a break from their son when the last part of Clint's comment registered in her addled brain, causing her to sputter "Date?"

"Mmhmm, spent all morning making plans, so you should go get changed," Clint replied casually before taking a sip from the bottle.

Staring at Clint in disbelief Laura didn't move, her brain otherwise occupied trying to figure out what _kind_ of plans Clint had been making, this in turn led to her thoughts drastically changing tracks to _what the hell should I wear?_

"Laura?"

"Huh, sorry," Laura pushed herself up from the table and started towards the door, stalling in the doorway she turned back to Clint and May asking "What should I wear?"

"Something comfortable, yet dressy," Clint replied moments before his attention turned back to May as he took a seat beside her.

Staring back at the pair of clandestine agents seated in her kitchen Laura found herself wondering how this was her life.

"Do you even know how to look after a baby?" she asked May a little plaintively.

May laughed. "I do. My husband and I - we're trying for one of our own. It'll be good practice for me," she finished with a wistful smile.

Laura could hardly protest after that. She hurried to her bedroom, rifled through her closet despairingly. "Comfortable yet dressy, what does that even _mean_?" she muttered. "It's cold out!"

In the end she settled for plain black slacks and a red sweater. She'd had both for years, but the sweater fit her snugly and made her breasts look great, so she doubted that Clint would notice - or care - that the clothes weren't new.

Adding her old but well-polished black boots and her one good coat, she hurried back to the lounge, finding Clint there instructing May on how to warm one of the bottles of pumped breast milk from the fridge when Cooper woke up.

"The diapers are…" Laura started.

"He already told me," May waved a cheerful hand. "Go, you two, go have a good time and let me be clucky over this little darling."

Before she could even get a further word out Laura found herself being ushered out the front door of the house by Clint, his hand pressed firmly against her lower back.


	5. Chapter 5

As Clint had been driving Laura had been staring out the window trying to figure out where they were headed; the Christmas decorations were just starting to adorn the streets of Arrowsic. The Maine weather meant it was already snowy, but it was now starting to get chillier; as Clint drove down Main Street she had to wonder just what exactly he had in store for their 'date'.

Deep in thought she hadn't realised the truck had stopped until the door she'd been leaning against opened suddenly, jerking her back to the present. Blinking as she realised she was suddenly leaning against a muscular chest Laura looked up shyly, her cheeks heating as she settled a hand on Clint's arm to slide out of the cab.

It was cooler outside than she'd expected, so once she'd stepped up onto the footpath Laura pulled the front of her coat closed, while it was her _only_ good coat it was well loved and worn and wasn't as warm as it once was.

"You'll need a warmer coat, we both will," Clint said thoughtfully.

The weight of his hand settled at her lower back to guide her towards the department store, though it wasn't as big as the stores in the larger towns it was large enough to carry most anything the town's residents required.

"I'm not even going to bother asking what you have planned, because I suspect you won't tell me anyway," Laura said, her voice soft with affection as she took in the cheeky grin on his face and the glint in his eyes.

When Clint pulled and held the door open for her Laura moved inside, she headed to the women's section on autopilot. Since having Cooper she didn't really have the luxury of buying new clothes, frankly she didn't have the money to spare by the time she'd paid her bills and bought food.

Moving through the racks towards the coats Laura idly ran her fingers over the clothing as she passed. Stopping by the coats she flicked through the rack one coat at a time, contemplating the different styles, colors and thickness.

There was one black woolen one that caught her eye, right up until she looked at the price tag. Just as she was about to move on to the discounted rack calloused fingers closed around her wrist. Turning her head she met Clint's curious gaze.

"You should get it, I think it'd look good on you."

"I can't afford it," Laura sighed as she once again went to move over to the discount rack, not that she got anywhere.

Instead Clint tugged at her wrist causing her to turn back towards him; the last thing she'd expected was for him to close the distance between them. In the next instant she found herself wrapped in his arms, her head coming to rest against his shoulder.

"Don't worry about the price, this one is on me. Get whichever coat you _like_ , you'll also need to get a scarf, hat and gloves," Clint said gently, his lips brushing against her temple.

"Can you even afford to do that?" Laura asked after a moment's reflection.

"Laura, don't worry about the cost. I'm rather well off from my work, from both before and with Coulson."

Tilting her head back she pressed a kiss to Clint's jaw, stepping back she turned back to the coat rack to pull out the one that had caught her attention, trying it on quickly to check the size she looked in a nearby mirror and smiled with pleasure. Taking the coat back off and draping it over her arm, Laura moved over to where Clint was perusing the scarves and gloves; she was curious about what he had in mind that required warmer attire.

She watched curiously as Clint picked out two scarves, a beanie and two pairs of gloves; surely he wasn't planning to take her hiking or something, was he? Laura must have had a puzzled frown forming on her face for when Clint turned to face her he cocked his head slightly and leant in to press a kiss to her forehead.

Clint stepped around her and started towards the counter, following after him Laura took the opportunity to enjoy the view of his retreating backside. Within minutes she found herself bundled up in the coat and scarf and was midway through pulling the wool lined leather gloves on when Clint reached out to place the beanie on her head.

With a soft laugh Laura started towards the door, pulling her gloves on the rest of the way, before Clint could make it to the door she pushed it open and moved out onto the street. Turning as Clint came out Laura cocked her head slightly, the black peacoat he'd picked out looked wonderful over his grey hoodie. _God, he's handsome,_ she thought, feeling proud to be seen out with such an attractive man.

Clint offered his arm and Laura happily slid her hand through to settle it on his forearm, as they walked in silence she couldn't help but think how strange this felt, to be out without Cooper.

It was starting to get dark and the lights were just starting to come to life as they walked. Laura wasn't paying as much attention as she probably should be to where they were going, and it wasn't until they stopped and she was gently guided to sit that she actually took a good look around.

The pond. They were at Sewell pond, every year when it froze over the locals used it as an ice skating rink, the Volunteer Fire Department always opened the fire station so that skaters could have access to hot drinks, snacks and the bathroom.

Her stomach dropped, surely Clint didn't intend for them to go skating? Turning her head in the direction Clint had gone off in Laura's hope was short lived and her greatest fear realised as she spied him returning carrying two pairs of the rental ice skates.

Clint's exuberant grin should have been infectious, and Laura honestly tried her best to return the smile. She knew it hadn't been successful though when his brow furrowed; not wanting to see the joy drain from his face she dropped her gaze to focus on the toes of her boots.

"Laura?"

His voice was laced with confusion that cut through Laura like a hot knife through butter. As a kid she'd loved the idea of ice skating, so when her family had spent a Christmas in the snow when she was eight she'd jumped at her chance to try it.

Not that it had ended well, as with most beginners she'd spent a fair amount of time landing on her ass. Just when she'd thought she'd gotten the hang of it, she'd lost her balance and had wound up breaking her arm in two places and tearing a ligament in her knee.

Shuddering as the memory washed over her Laura unconsciously rubbed at her arm while flexing her knee, she absolutely did _not_ flinch as arms wrapped around her just as a warm solid body pressed into her side.

"Laura, what's wrong?" Clint asked, concern lacing his voice.

"I can't skate. The one time I tried…..it didn't end well," Laura replied, her voice sounding slightly brittle even to her own ears.

"Landed on your ass, huh?" he teased.

"Several times actually, then managed to land awkwardly enough to break my arm in two places and tear a ligament in my knee," she huffed in response.

The only sounds she could hear was that of the laughter of families already on the pond skating, leaning into Clint's embrace Laura rested her head on his chest. His silence was a little disconcerting, and it was several long minutes of silence before she felt his arms tighten around her as his chin rested against the top of her head.

"Well, that gives me even more reason to hold you close then. Doesn't it?"

"And how exactly do you propose to hold me close and skate at the same time?" she asked quietly.

"Well there's side by side, face to face or back to chest. The latter is probably the easiest, that way if you do happen to fall I can break it," Clint said after a moment's reflection.

Laura couldn't help the quiet giggle that slipped free, easing back from Clint's chest she cocked her head slightly and said quietly "It can't hurt to try, I suppose, and you did go to all the trouble of planning this."

He squeezed a little tighter for a moment and pressed his lips lightly to hers, sending a little shock of pleasure through her. Her eyes were just drifting closed when he pulled back. "Thank you for trusting me, Laura. I promise I won't let you fall. I'll never let anything happen to you."

There was such deep emotion in his voice that she had to look away, her cheeks flushed. He let her go without comment, bending to quickly and efficiently put his skates on.

Sliding a little along the bench Laura bent to undo the laces of her boots, toeing them off one at a time she replaced them with the ice skates. Pointedly ignoring the twist of her stomach as she laced the skates in place, she lifted her gaze in time to see Clint making one lap of the pond and skidding elegantly to a stop in front of her with one hand extended.

Taking a reassuring breath she reached up and took Clint's offered hand; pushing up onto the skates she wavered momentarily and only maintained her balance because Clint swung round behind her and curled his other arm around her midsection.

"I've got you," his breath was warm on her ear, his voice low and reassuring, and the butterflies in Laura's stomach intensified, though for a different reason than a few moments before. She relaxed against him instinctively, and a moment later he'd pushed them off, gliding her easily across the ice.

It was… really nice, Laura realised. Though she wasn't sure if she was actually enjoying the smooth, free feeling that gliding across the ice gave her, or the feeling of utter safety she got from Clint's arms.

 _Clint_ , she realised. Definitely Clint, as his firm grip on her stomach eased and she panicked, grabbing at him.

"It's OK," he drew them to a stop at once, turned to her face him. "Let's try it this way. Hold onto my hands, Laura, I'll go backwards. You're doing great. Trust me, I won't let you fall."

This was worse. Much worse. She couldn't concentrate on anything but his eyes, on the changing colours in them as he looked down at her. Losing her footing almost at once, she tumbled forward into his arms with a shriek which turned to laughter as he swept her off her feet and kept on skating backwards.

"Is this some sort of required skill for whichever shady government agency you and Coulson and May work for?" she giggled.

"A much older skill than that," he chuckled, "there was a pond which froze over on the place where I spent the first few years of my life. My brother and I, we used to spend hours and hours sliding on it in the winter."

"You didn't say you had a brother," Laura murmured, surprised.

"He's dead," Clint's voice lowered, then raised again. "And since then, I've spent far too much time with SHIELD in the world's colder trouble spots. Got to practice proper skating. SHIELD is our _shady agency_ , by the way."

Laura's mouth had opened with shock as soon as he mentioned the name. "That's not shady! That's the world's biggest security agency!"

Clint gave her a slightly rueful smile. He'd skated to the bank of the pond, set her on her feet on solid ground. "I… might work for one of the shadier parts of it? Let's just say that the E stands for Enforcement and that's kind of my job."

Arms linked around his neck, she looked up at him thoughtfully. "Is that a euphemism for _assassin_?"

He blinked, said nothing.

"At least tell me that you only hurt bad people."

Clint smiled. "Definitely."

"I can live with that."

"Good." For a moment she thought he might kiss her again, found herself leaning forward in eager anticipation, but he stepped back. "Come on, let's go put our boots back on. We're going to be late."

"For what?" she asked, but he didn't answer.

Clint could feel Laura's eyes on him as he guided the truck back through the town, he'd heard great things about the small restaurant the Bed and Breakfast on the outskirts of town ran. It was run by a family and apparently served really good Italian, so he'd dropped by earlier that morning to make a dinner reservation.

From the corner of his eye Clint could see Laura's leg bouncing restlessly, her fingers idly fidgeting with the hem of her coat. Reaching over he settled his free hand on her bouncing knee and tried to distract her by asking "Do you like Italian?"

"I do, but I haven't had anything but home made attempts in some time," Laura admitted quietly.

"You didn't know there was a really good Italian restaurant right under your nose?"

"I'd heard rumors, but that's not really the kind of place you go to alone to eat," she replied quietly, adding on at the last minute "Especially when pregnant and without reliable transport."

 _And on limited funds,_ he thought, hearing the unspoken subtext. "Well, we're both in for a treat, then," he said cheerfully. "I've heard their _risotto_ is to die for."

Laura smiled as he pulled the truck up, her eyes widening as she leaned over to see the car parked in front. "Good grief, that must be someone from out of town! Certainly no one in Arrowsic owns a Ferrari!"

"I guess this place's reputation really has spread far and wide." Again Clint went around and opened Laura's door for her, helping her down and putting his arm around her. "Careful, the pavement's icy. I don't want you to slip."

"My hero," she grinned, leaning into him and curling her arm around his waist as her other hand came up to rest on his stomach.


	6. Chapter 6

Guiding her up the stairs onto the porch Clint reached out with his free hand to open the door, ushering Laura inside, he grinned at the older lady behind the desk as she waved them in. He'd spoken to her earlier in the day when he'd made the reservation but for the life of him he couldn't recall her name.

Pulling a chair out for Laura he waited until she sat before claiming the one across from her, he'd positioned them strategically so they were side on to the entrances and exits. It was ingrained in him to position himself where he had clear lines of sight and he did it automatically now.

Clint was aware of Laura ordering for them, let her do it in fact as his attention was focused solely on studying the other patrons in the room. For the most part he ignored the staff working, his gaze drawn instead to the two burly figures seated at a table near the back.

At the table behind them all he could see was a figure dressed in an expensive suit, and across from them a woman far too dressed up, her face caked in makeup. Someone's mistress, he thought, some businessman taking his tart out to a quiet spot where they wouldn't be seen and his wife wouldn't find out. Still, his senses were screaming at him that something wasn't right, but he couldn't quite pinpoint _what._ Dismissing it for now, sternly telling himself he was just being paranoid, he turned his attention back to Laura and found her staring at him quizzically.

"Clint, is everything okay? You seem….distracted," Laura prompted gently, one of her hands reaching across the table to settle over his.

"I'm not sure, something _feels_ off," he said distractedly, looking around the room again. His eyes met a pair of dark brown ones staring incredulously at him.

 _Oh, shit_. Clint thought suddenly, recognition sending a sudden wave of unease through him. He _knew_ that face, though it was younger but it was identical to one of his first targets he'd taken out in his early days with SHIELD.

A mafioso who had had ties to some very nasty people, someone Fury hadn't wanted rising through the ranks to become a mob boss. What was his name again? Bartoletti? No that wasn't it,Bertolotti?

God dammit, what was that guy's name...Bertinelli? That was it Antonio Bertinelli, he'd had a seventeen year old son Nicola at the time. He'd be twenty-one now and would fit with the age of the young man now staring at him.

No not just at him he realised belatedly at _them_ , the man's dark brown eyes occasionally flicking across to Laura. Clint winced inwardly at the fact he'd left his gun in his go bag at Laura's, though he had his bow in the truck it wasn't much use to him out there.

The only thing he even had close to weapons on the table was the cutlery, the forks could work possibly even the blunt butter knives. A firm squeeze to his hand drew Clint's focus back outwards and he blinked slowly as he looked to Laura, he could see the concern in her features and caused his heart to speed up.

She was worried. Had no idea about the possible life threatening situation he'd just inadvertantly put her in and she was worried, not for herself but about him. From the corner of his eye Clint saw one of the burly men, that he now realised were in fact bodyguards escort the woman out into the gardens.

That was _very_ bad, especially when the second burly guard started towards their table. Turning his hand under Laura's he gave a gentle squeeze just as a hand slammed down on his shoulder. A voice growling "My boss would like a word with you."

"Well he's shit out of luck cause I'm busy," Clint rumbled menacingly.

When a large hand slammed down on the table, causing Laura to jump Clint reacted on instinct. His free hand snatched the fork from the table and came down to embed the fork in the man's hand before coming up to wrench the one off his shoulder and twist it sharply.

Pushing off the chair Clint pulled the knife he could see from beneath the body guards coat, his leg coming up quickly to kick the burly man back from the table. Gripping the table he flipped it on it's side and pulled Laura from her seat down behind it.

Leaning in to rest his forehead against Laura's, Clint looked into her wide startled eyes, his fingers curling tightly around the knife hilt as his free hand lifted to cup her cheek as he said calmly "When I tell you, run. Get out and into the truck as quickly as possibly, I'll be right behind you."

"What? Clint, what's going on?" Laura asked desperately.

"Laura, trust me. I'll explain, when we're out of here."

The first shot that pierced through the table just to his left hadn't been expected, he also hadn't expected Laura to not even bat an eyelid at suddenly being in the middle of a gun fight. Moving to look over the table Clint felt Laura's hands curl into his coat, and before he could even speak he soon found himself pulled back down and her lips plastered to his.

Lifting his head when Laura broke the kiss Clint blinked slowly, and met her eyes as she softly hissed "You get hurt and we'll be having serious words, Buster."

"Yes Ma'am," he said with a grin he couldn't contain, stroking his fingers over her cheek Clint rumbled "Run, now."

He didn't want to use Laura as bait but at the same time he knew the punk across the room would track the movement, so once she was on her feet and and moving for the door Clint popped up from behind the table took aim and sent the knife flying end over end towards it's target.

Watching as it embedded in his target's hand causing him to drop his gun Clint pushed up and launched himself after Laura before the second bodyguard returned. Rushing out the door and towards the truck Clint was momentarily startled by the fact his truck was already running.

As he rushed for the driver's side door one hand fell unconsciously to the coat pocket where he'd been certain the keys had been, it was empty….how? Climbing behind the wheel he threw the truck into reverse and roared down the drive, reaching into his pocket he pulled his phone out and held it out to Laura.

Once out of the driveway he changed gears and took off down the road, eyes glued to the the road and rearview mirror as he barked "Open the phone and dial 33, switch it to speaker."

 _"_ _Barton, don't tell me you've gone and screwed things up already."_

Glaring momentarily at the phone in response to May's teasing tone Clint's hands tightened on the steering wheel as he growled "No, May, we have a situation."

 _"_ _What happened?"_

Sparing Laura a glance he saw her frowning quizzically at the phone, apparently even she picked up the minute change in May's tone of voice. Shaking his head to get back on task Clint sorted through the details to pick the key points and ended up going with "My past came back to bite me in the ass. Grab Cooper, his diaper bag and bottles and my go bag and get the fuck out of there. _Now_. Keep him safe at any cost, my gun is in my go bag if you need it."

 _"_ _I got him Barton, you get off the grid and lay low. I'll let Coulson know what's going on."_

"I owe you one May, I'll be in touch tomorrow," Clint made a gesture to Laura as the line went dead to hang up the phone without taking his eyes off the road.

"Take the battery off and the Sim card out," he requested, and when she obeyed, he took the card and snapped it in two between his teeth before opening the window and throwing the pieces out.

"Um," Laura said uncertainly.

"I'll call Coulson once I have you in a safe location. He'll connect us back up with May and Cooper," Clint replied without taking his eyes off the road. "Okay, wind your window down and throw the other pieces of the phone out, please?"

Feeling the sudden breeze as the window wound down Clint saw Laura shift and throw piece after piece of his phone out, as the breeze died down he barely heard the soft sigh as Laura slid along the truck's seat to settle in against his side.

"You were real steady back there when the bullets started flying, darlin'," he said after a moment. "Want to talk to me about it?" She'd surprised him, in truth. He knew she'd never been military. That the most action she'd ever seen was the incident years ago where Coulson saved her life.

"I knew you wouldn't let any harm come to me," she said quietly and Clint nearly lost his mind. He was opening his mouth to speak when the squeal of tyres behind him made him check the mirrors and curse.

"Get down!" he shoved Laura hastily down into the footwell, floored the gas, though he knew already it was hopeless. He was never going to escape a Ferrari 458 by outrunning it.

Laura lifted her head just enough to peek in the side mirror, see what was after them. "Clint," she said urgently, "take the next right."

"Laura…" but he obeyed, found himself suddenly on a rutted track. The truck pulled quickly away from the Ferrari on the rough ground. "Damn," Clint glanced admiringly down at her.

"This joins back up with another road about a mile further on," Laura warned, "they'll catch us again. Are they bad guys?"

"His father certainly fucking was," Clint replied grimly. "Nasty character, into all sorts of filth with the Mob. I was undercover; my evidence put Bertinelli Senior away for life."

"Bertinelli? Oh dear."

"Just tell me," he said through gritted teeth. "You know him?"

"Nicola Bertinelli owns half the town… I didn't know he was Mafia. I… used to work for him."

" _Fuck_." Laura and Cooper would have to disappear. Full identity erasure. Coulson was going to be _pissed_ , and Clint winced at the mere thought of what Fury would have to say. He glanced in the mirror again. It was full dark and he could see the Ferrari's headlights bouncing as the sports car struggled on the bad road, but a moment later the truck's wheels hit smooth tarmac again and he knew he had to make a decision.

"I have to stop them, Laura."

"Okay," she agreed quietly. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to take over driving so I can unfold my bow. When I tell you, hit the brakes hard. I'll get out; you floor it and keep going."

"I can't leave you!" was her immediate response.

"You can and you will," he said implacably, "you'll know if it's safe to come back for me, trust me. Now get on my lap."

"Excuse me?" she blinked, startled.

"Get on my lap," he gave her a wicked grin, "so you can take over driving."

"You know I'd much rather get on your lap when people _aren't_ trying to kill us," Laura muttered quietly as she maneouvered her way onto his lap.

"That a fact?"

Though the only answer Clint got was a very deliberate squirm on Laura's part in his lap, the action sending a jolt of arousal through his system despite their life or death situation. Sliding out from under her Clint reached under the seat for his bow case, pulling it out he flipped it open to retrieve his quiver and collapsed bow.

Slinging the quiver over his shoulder Clint flicked his hand down toward the footwall to trigger the bow release, glancing at Laura and her white-knuckled grip on the wheel he ordered "Now!"

Bracing for the hard stop Clint threw the door open; ignoring Laura's softly muttered curses and protests he climbed out and slammed the door. He was thankful when he heard the engine gun, reaching back to his quiver he pulled out one of his exploding arrows, twisted the head to set it to impact detonation and nocked it on his bow string.

There could only be two people in the 458, he knew. Which meant that one of the three men who'd seen Laura with him was going to survive the night. He hoped it wasn't Nicola Bertinelli, but if it was, then it couldn't be helped. Clint lined up his sights under the 458's oncoming headlights and loosed.

The explosion lit up the night sky. Laura, seeing it in the mirror, jammed on the brakes, freezing. She sat indecisively staring out of the rear window for a couple of minutes, before the driver's door suddenly opened, making her let out a scream of fright.

"Easy," Clint said soothingly, "easy, it's only me."

Collapsing his bow back down and shrugging the quiver back off Clint eased into the truck as Laura slid over, leaning over her legs he placed his bow and quiver back in the case and slid it back under the seat.

Straightening Clint was caught off guard as Laura flung her arms around him, her head coming to rest against his. Curling an arm around her waist he took a moment or two just reassure himself she was safe, at least until she pulled back balled one hand into a fist and punched him firmly in the shoulder.

"Don't you pull a stupid stunt like that _ever_ again. Cooper _needs_ his father."

It was impossible for him to miss the waver in her voice nor the unsaid words of _I need you_ , sighing quietly he pulled back to get them moving again saying "I'll try not to, but sometimes my job requires risky moves."

"I know, doesn't mean I have to like it," Laura huffed, crossing her arms to stare out the passenger window as she asked "So where are we heading now?"

"Now, we find a safe place to lie low, until I can get in touch with Coulson. If Bertinelli Junior wasn't in that car, he'll be looking for us using every corrupt cop on his father's payroll."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** This chapter is definitely not safe for work. If you don't want to read the smut scroll past the first line break to the second.

Laura's head was nodding drowsily against Clint's shoulder as he pulled the truck in behind the tiny motel he'd chosen. She startled upright as the engine shut off asking wearily "Where are we?"

"Somewhere safe, just for the night," he answered quietly. "Wait here while I get a room, okay?"

It's not really as though she had a choice in the matter, Clint was already exiting the truck and she had nowhere to go. In the span of a few minutes her entire life had gone down the proverbial toilet, it wasn't Clint's fault he wasn't to know that an adversary of his past would turn out to be her former employer.

Now she essentially found herself homeless, probably jobless again, no personal possessions to her name and her son was god only knows where right now, what had started out as a relaxing, wonderful night out had rather quickly devolved into utter chaos.

Sighing Laura shoved the truck door open with slightly more force than was absolutely necessary, sliding off the seat and out into the crisp night. Pacing to the front of the track she hauled herself onto the bonnet and leant back to brace her hands against it, turning her face skywards she scowled at the universe in general.

It never seemed to fail that whenever anything in her life started going well something would inevitably happen to screw it up again, she really must have done something to piss Karma off. Just when she'd deemed it safe to hope that maybe just maybe Clint wanted to be part of her little family, it now looked as though that might not happen.

"You all right?"

Laura let out a little shriek, jumping straight up in the air. "Clint Barton, I am gonna have to put a bell on you! Dear God, give a girl a little warning!"

He grinned, entirely unrepentant, and collected his bow case from the truck before offering her his arm. "Your palace awaits, m'lady."

Shaking her head Laura eased off the bonnet, muttering "This is as much a palace as I am wealthy."

Taking Clint's offered arm Laura hurried to fall into step with him as he walked, her hand clasping his arm firmly.

"As for your question, no I am definitely _not_ alright," she said miserably. Taking note of the room numbers they passed as she continued "Just been pondering the fact that my life has once again turned to shit."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, stopping at a door and putting in a key, "really I am, Laura. I never considered that the other part of my life could spill over onto you. I'd never put you or Cooper at risk deliberately, please believe that."

"I do," she agreed.

"Good. Well, this is your room. I'm just next door." He took a step back.

"What?" Laura blinked.

"Next door," Clint gestured.

"I _heard_ that, but _why_?" crossing her arms over her chest Laura glanced from the open door back to Clint, her lips pursed.

He rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. "Because it would have seemed extremely presumptuous if I'd booked just one room? And totally unbelievable if I told you they only had the one available," he nodded down to the almost-deserted parking lot.

"Clint, you've been living in my house and it's not like we haven't shared a bed before. As is evident by the cute little baby boy currently who knows where with May. I'd have thought it would have been _safer_ to both be in the same room but whatever," throwing her arms up in frustration Laura turned and stalked into the dark room, kicking the door closed behind her.

Clint opened the door straight away. "What?" Laura snapped, turning to glare at him.

He held the key up. "You left it in the outside of the door."

She scowled, stomped back over and grabbed it from his hand. He held on to it. "Are you mad because you think I don't _want_ to sleep with you? Or is there something else I'm missing, here?"

" _Do_ you want to sleep with me?" she answered his question with another question.

"What kind of question is that? To be honest with you Laura, I _haven't_ been able to stop recollecting our only night together since I set foot back inside your house. And for a long time before that, too. Thoughts of you were the only damn good thing I had to hold on to over the last few months." He was standing close, his expression intense as he gazed down at her.

Laura found her breath coming fast. "Clint," was all she could manage to say, but apparently it was enough. The key fell to the floor as he stepped closer still, his arm sliding around her, his head bending towards hers. The door swung closed behind him as their lips met, and Laura melted against him, his hard body, his strong arms around her feeling just as good as they had that very first time.

"Do you want me to stay?" Clint whispered against her lips when they broke for air. His eyes searched hers, looking for hints of the truth. If she told him to go he would go, but he really hoped she wouldn't.

"Yes, I'd have thought that abundantly clear by my irritation over two rooms," Laura said quietly, her arms lifting to wrap around his neck as she admitted shyly, "I haven't been able to get you out of my head."

"I don't think I want you to," Clint answered before pulling her close and kissing her again.

Melting into Clint she returned the kiss with fervor, dropping one arm from around his neck to reach out blindly behind him for the door's lock. Fumbling till her fingers found the latch she flicked it to secure the door.

Clint made an eager sound against her lips, and then suddenly he was lifting her easily off her feet, carrying her to the bed. "You're so fucking beautiful," he whispered, laying her down, kneeling above her, smoothing back her long dark hair.

Laura smiled up at him, her hands smoothing down his shoulders and arms, feeling the thick bulky muscle under his shirt. "You're not so bad yourself, hot stuff." She attacked the buttons of his shirt. "I've been dreaming about these muscles for months."

"Yeah?" Clint smirked, pleased, shrugged his shirt off and deliberately flexed his biceps. "What, these ones?"

"Oh God," Laura moaned shamelessly, squeezing, making him chuckle. "I've had a lot of fantasies about these arms."

His pupils dilated, his voice dropped low and husky. "Why don't you tell me a few of them, darlin'? I'll see if I can make them a reality."

"Weeeellll," she drew the word out slowly, digging her fingernails in a little and dragging them down his biceps, "I was thinking that you're probably strong enough to hold me up against a wall."

His hips jerked against her, and she could tell how much he liked the idea. "Reckon I am, darlin'. Reckon I am. But I think I'd like to play with you a little first. Get you all worked up for me." Deliberately he ground his pelvis against hers, and Laura moaned hungrily.

Arching up into Clint as she pulled him closer, her hands clamped firmly on his biceps Laura murmured breathlessly "You are a cruel tease Clint Barton."

* * *

Clint's low rumble of laughter vibrating against her throat had Laura shuddering beneath him. She was already feeling wet from the sheer sensation of his weight atop her and the teasing grind of his groin against hers.

"If we're going to talk about teasing, what about you walking around the house in those damnable yoga pants and maternity tops?" Clint growled against her throat, nipping sharply before continuing "Do you have any idea how many times over the past week I've wanted to throw you down and ravish you?"

"Probably about as many times as I've fantasized about pinning you down and mapping every glorious inch of your body with my hands and mouth?" Laura said cheekily.

The choked groan from Clint as he pushed himself up enough to look down into her eyes had Laura giggling, sliding her hand up his bicep and along his shoulder she scratched lightly at the nape of his neck.

"Minx," he growled, one big hand coming up to curve around her breast. He squeezed lightly, and Laura gasped before chuckling, her eyes bright as she looked up at him.

"Careful. They're sensitive - and you might get more than you bargained for."

"Oh. Oh!" Clint actually blushed, which she found utterly adorable, and hastily snatched his hand away. She grabbed it back.

"It's good. Just… gentle. They are _really_ sensitive."

"Okay…" he was still hesitant, so she wriggled out of her sweater and bra, brought his hand back to her breast and circled one fingertip around her nipple.

"Like… that. Mmm," as he got the idea, bent his head and licked very delicately at her other nipple.

Laura was a lot more sensitive than he remembered, her breasts bigger, the nipples a little deeper in colour. There were faint silvery stretch marks on her stomach, and he kissed along them slowly, moving downwards.

"Oh, don't," Laura mumbled, embarrassed, "they're ugly…"

"They're a miracle," he disagreed huskily, "proof that you carried our beautiful son in here for all those months."

That made her smile, and run her fingers into his short hair as he swirled his tongue lightly in her navel, his fingers deftly unfastening her pants.

As his fingers slipped beneath the waistband Laura shifted her feet to brace on the mattress, lifting her hips so Clint could glide her pants and panties down over her backside. The vibration of Clint's growl of frustration against her stomach as he realised her pants were tangled around the tops of her boots had Laura chuckling softly, stroking his hair she teased "You know, your plan might work a lot better if my boots weren't in the way."

Within a matter of moments Laura heard her boots land with a thud on the floor, her clothing following them soon after. The brush of calloused fingers over her folds had her squirming with a hushed moan.

"Already wet for me, darlin'?" Clint drawled, dipping his head to trace along one of the stretch marks on her stomach with his tongue as he circled one slick finger around her clit.

As his finger began tapping a rhythm against her clit Laura's only response was an inarticulate moan, though the moment she felt Clint's warm breath on her inner thigh she barely had any time to register what was coming before his tongue swept through her folds.

Between Clint's talented mouth and fingers and her _long_ abstinence it wasn't long until Laura's nerve-endings were alight with sheer ecstasy, bordering on the brink of her pleasure .

"Oh...please, so….close," Laura stuttered breathlessly, her whole body a quivering mess beneath Clint's ministrations.

Fingers suddenly sliding deep within her crooked at just the right angle as his tongue flicked over her clit rapidly had Laura seeing stars, her climax washing over her like a breaking wave, the only sound she could make was a strangled cry as she shuddered with her aftershocks.

"So beautiful, so responsive," Clint drawled lazily, while stretching out beside her.

"Uhn," was Laura's not so eloquent reply, her head lolling to the side blinking slowly as she tried to focus on Clint's face. It took her a couple of moments for her vision to clear and her brain to regain some semblance of normalcy in order to speak, her voice coming out breathy, "You're trying to kill me."

"Definitely not, darlin'," Clint chuckled as he rolled off the bed.

Pushing herself up on unsteady arms Laura watched quietly as Clint shed his pants and boxers, she definitely wasn't going to complain about the view as he bent to rifle through his pants pockets.

Carefully getting to her feet Laura reached out and swatted Clint's ass, she let out a sudden squeal followed by uncontrollable giggles as he straightened and pulled her into him while backing towards the wall.

"Now, I believe you said something about me holding you up against a wall?" Clint rumbled by her ear, spinning to pin her against the wall.

"Oh...yes," she gasped as Clint dropped down into a crouch, his hands sliding up her calves and behind her knees. As he straightened it caused her legs to hook over his arms, grasping at his shoulders to keep her balance as they came face to face. "Hey."

"Hey yourself, darlin'. Best hold on," Clint growled against her lips.

Slinging one arm around Clint's shoulders Laura was in the process of trying to figure out where to settle her other hand as he thrust into her, letting her head fall back against the wall with a thud she tried and failed to stop the keen that slipped from her throat.

Running the fingers of her free hand through Clint's hair Laura tugged sharply to tilt his head up, crashing her mouth down over his to muffle the next embarrassing sound attempting to slip free.

Pulling back from the kiss with a gasp Laura dug her nails into Clint's shoulder, her other hand curling around the nape of his neck. The rhythm he'd established was swiftly driving her insane, then angle of his hips combined with the hard thrusts as he pounded into her sending jolts of electricity through her nerves.

Teeth dragging against her throat had Laura whimpering, her head tilting slightly as she purred "Please Clint, mark me." It sounded wanton even to her own ears but the low growl that rumbled from Clint sent another jolt of pleasure coursing through her body.

His next thrust was joined by his mouth fastening on her neck, the pull of his firm sucks had Laura's eyelids fluttering closed as she moaned. Pressing her shoulders into the wall she arched her back and rolled her hips into Clint's next solid thrust, she could feel the pressure coiling deep within her.

Clint's rhythm faltered occasionally, a telling sign Laura recalled from their last encounter that he was close to his own climax. The moment Clint's hands shifted the angle of her hips Laura groaned, fireworks bursting behind her closed eyelids as Clint's groin brushed against her clit with each thrust.

Raking her fingers through Clint's short hair, her other hand clenched tightly against his shoulder. As her climax washed through her, her nails pierced the skin of his shoulder as she shuddered, crying out.

" _Fuck_ ," Clint growled against her throat.

His thrusts became more frantic, harder, sending aftershocks rippling through Laura's body, within just a few more seconds he was buried deep, a hoarse cry coming from Clint's throat as he came. She could feel the pulses of his semen jetting through his cock into the condom as her muscles milked him.

For several long minutes the only sound filling the room was their combined heavy breathing, Clint's head resting heavily against her sternum as she idly stroked her fingers through his hair with a pleased hum.

The wall suddenly vanishing from behind her shoulders had Laura letting out a startled yelp, her eyes flying open as her arm around Clint's shoulder tightened instinctively. It took her a moment to realise that Clint was moving them back onto the bed, slowly lowering her down to rest upon the bedding as he eased out of her.

* * *

She felt the mattress shift beneath her as she assumed Clint moved off to head for the bathroom, she really didn't have the energy to push herself up to see. Laura had just drifted into a light doze as calloused fingers lightly brushed her thigh, though her eyes didn't open until a warm damp cloth began moving over her inner thighs to clean her up.

Propping herself up on her elbows Laura blinked down at Clint just as he started patting her dry with a towel, nudging him with her foot she inched back toward the headboard to wriggle under the bedding, her voice drowsy and slurred as she said "Get your ass in here and cuddle with me."

"Bossy little thing, aren't you?" he teased while sliding into the bed beside her.

"Not always, but I'm high on endorphins right now and I _want_ those arms wrapped around me," settling on her side she wriggled back into Clint's chest, a contented sigh escaping as his arm draped over her side, his hand splaying on her stomach.

When she woke in the morning it took Laura a good minute to recall the events from the night before, Clint's arm was still draped across her side like a dead weight and at some point during the night one of his legs had wrapped around hers.

Stretching languidly she shifted to glance over her shoulder, meeting bleary blue grey eyes as he blinked them open she smiled tenderly. Laura turned to face Clint, bringing her hand up to cup his cheek she leant in to kiss him softly.

It would have been a perfect moment _if_ her stomach hadn't decided to make its displeasure known, the loud growl broke the silence and Laura pulled back from the kiss, her cheeks heating as she groaned "Oh, that's embarrassing."

"Hungry, darlin'?" Clint teased.

"Starved, actually. You'll recall we didn't exactly get to eat last night, add in the strenuous activity and the fact I'm still breastfeeding and I could probably eat a small horse," she admitted sheepishly.

"Shit, I should have thought of that. Probably should have made a pit stop for food before finding a motel," he said frustratedly.

"It's okay, well, so long as we have breakfast before we head off to wherever today."

"I'd rather not stay in one place any longer than we have to, so maybe we can get on the road and make a stop at a diner or something in the next town we come to?" he suggested.

"I can handle that." Stretching luxuriantly, Laura caught him sliding his gaze down her body, his tongue slipping out to lick his lips. "But I can't handle THAT before eating!" Laughing, she wriggled away and out of bed, dashing into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her, cutting off his hopeful suggestion of a shared shower.

Within half an hour they'd been back on the road and Clint had been true to word, they'd stopped in the very next town and ordered breakfast to go. They'd eaten as they'd drove, Laura deciding it was easier to feed Clint than have him driving distracted.

While she'd been ordering breakfast Clint had been making a phone call which had determined their destination, she had no idea really where they headed. Honestly she hadn't asked, if Clint thought they'd be safe there then his word was good enough for her.

A little over four hours later Laura was staring out the truck window, wide-eyed as Clint flawlessly maneouvered the truck through the streets of Brooklyn. This was the last place she'd ever expected a SHIELD base to be located, but Clint had assured her Coulson had been adamant about bringing her here that she'd be safe.

"Who'd have ever thought a shady government organisation would have a secret base in Brooklyn," Laura quipped as Clint drove the truck into an underground parking garage - that turned out to have _far_ more levels than it should.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay in updating. My life has been someone unsettled and I'm still trying to adjust to meds for my depression. There is one more chapter completed after this and I was attempting another as an epilogue but it's not co-operating.

As the elevator they were in descended through the floors Laura pressed in close to Clint, she'd garnered a few stares from people as they boarded. The lower they descended the fewer people seemed to board and disembark, that _wasn't at all_ disconcerting.

"Why do I feel like all of a sudden I'm about to step into hell?" Laura muttered quietly, turning her gaze up to Clint curiously as he chuckled.

"Probably because Fury likes to give the impression he's the devil incarnate," he retorted before pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"That is not helping my nervousness over meeting your boss, Clint."

Clint's hand settled on her lower back as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open, moving through the doors the first sight Laura saw was Coulson and May standing at the end of the hall. Her heart sank, however, when she saw no sign whatsoever of her son. Breaking away from Clint she sprinted the length of the hall, sliding to a stop in front of May "What happened? Where is _he_ , where's Cooper!"

"He's fine, he was….taken off my hands after his last bottle," May supplied.

She didn't realise her hands were fisted in the front of May's shirt until Coulson cleared his throat and Clint's hands were suddenly there, easing hers away. Breathing heavily she forced her eyes shut and attempted to tamp down the urge to tear the base apart in search of her son.

"Easy darlin', maiming May isn't going to get Coop back any sooner," Clint said soothingly.

"I wasn't going to maim May, she took care of Coop when I couldn't. Whoever took him from her though, that's an entirely different matter," Laura growled in frustration.

"You know, there's something extremely hot about seeing you go all mother bear and wanting to tear apart anyone hurting our son," Clint rumbled by her ear.

"Barton, zip it," Coulson sighed.

By the tone of his voice Laura gathered this wasn't the first time Coulson was having to deal with Clint's lack of brain mouth filter, turning in Clint's arms she tilted her head up to kiss his jaw murmuring quietly "We'll be readdressing that comment _later_. Preferably in private."

Her attention turned back to May, glaring at the other woman she demanded "Now _where_ is my son?"

"Fury has him," May responded evenly.

Laura was aware of Clint's body tensing behind her, narrowing her eyes she turned her head slightly to look at Coulson before snapping "So who is Fury?"

"That boss you're nervous about meeting," Clint said dryly. "What is _he_ doing with Cooper?" he had to ask May curiously. May grinned at him.

"Oh, you'll just have to see that for yourself."

He had the strangest feeling that she was holding in a fit of laughter by a supreme effort of will.

Laura scowled at no one in particular, though her gaze soon locked onto Coulson's back as he turned towards the door behind him. His hand hovering by the handle had her sighing as she stepped forward and wrenched the handle, pushing the door open.

Whatever she'd expected, it wasn't a huge, one-eyed black man in a long black leather coat pacing slowly up and down a large office crooning a lullaby to her son.

"Sshh," Fury murmured quietly as he saw her, "he's just dropping off."

Clint, Coulson and May slipped into the office alongside her. Clint's eyes were huge with surprise, and Laura had the feeling that this was a side of his boss he'd never suspected existed. They all watched silently as Fury resumed his crooning to Cooper.

Finally, Fury settled himself in the chair behind a huge glass desk, Cooper snuggled securely in his lap, a fold of Fury's coat covering his small body. Laura could see he was sound asleep, utterly limp and relaxed. She found herself smiling at Fury, and he returned the smile.

Clint froze up even further, gaping. May was suppressing chuckles with a superhuman effort, and Coulson was as smooth-faced as ever.

"So you're Laura," Fury said, keeping his voice low, though she could hear the iron behind it and guessed that this was a very formidable man. He nodded to the chairs in front of the desk and Laura seated herself, the others following suit after a moment's pause.

"Yes, sir."

"Call me Nick. Considering that your son threw up on my trousers earlier, I think we can skip the formalities, hmm?" There was a surprising twinkle in his one black eye.

Laura giggled, her hand flying to her mouth. "Oh - oh, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine. I have a whole spare wardrobe here. Lots of overnighters at the office, you understand." He was actually rocking slightly in his chair, soothing Cooper ever deeper into slumber. "Now, I understand Barton here has managed to thoroughly stuff up your life."

Her hackles rose at that insinuation, leaning forward on the chair Laura clenched her hands by her knees and hissed "Clint had no way of knowing that Bertinelli would be there, or that he'd recognise him."

Laura felt Clint's hand settle on her shoulder, a warning squeeze following shortly after that she shrugged off in order to continue "He dealt with the situation and got _all_ of us to safety."

"Laura," Coulson and Clint both said warningly at the same time.

Ignoring them she pressed on "Bertinelli was, probably still is, an asshole. Kinda glad I broke his nose when I did though, hopefully he learnt when a woman says _no_ she means it."

She shrugged at the incredulous splutter from Clint, her focus instead locked on Fury who had simply arched one eyebrow up, Laura plowed on saying "I worked for Nicola Bertinelli, in his office. He fired me after I broke his nose. If he wasn't in that Ferrari that Clint blew up, then frankly I wish he was."

"True, but I was _actually_ talking about this young man," Fury said in hushed tones, his eye flicking down to the small boy in his lap.

"Oh, wait what?" Laura squawked quietly, shaking her head adamantly "Hell, no. That little boy is the _best_ thing in my life."

"I get the feeling I should be insulted by that," Clint huffed out quietly, his gaze darting between Laura, Cooper and Fury.

"Clint," Laura sighed, and turned her gaze back to Clint, her hand reaching out to settle on his thigh as she continued "You've been in my life for a total of nine days, Cooper has pretty much _been_ my life for the past year."

It was at about that moment in time that Coulson _finally_ found his voice asking incredulously "How did I miss the fact you were working for a mafioso's son, while you were also a potential safe house for my agents?"

"I'd only been working for him for a few weeks when Clint turned up!" Laura protested. "He bought the company I worked for!"

"Didn't you tell me he owns half the town?" Clint broke in suddenly, trying to defuse the growing tension.

"Yes," she replied, chewing her lower lip in thought "Though I have no idea _why_ , it's not like Arrowsic is terribly important. It's a small family town."

Her gaze darted between the rooms occupants before finally settling back on Fury. "If it helps I could share along what information I recall? Things like what he owns and stuff like that. Now that I _know_ what he's a part of, I don't think I like the idea of him being up to no good."

"That would be very helpful, Laura," Fury agreed. "Barton put away the father and a number of his cronies, but we didn't have anything on the son at the time. It doesn't look like we got hold of as much of Bertinelli Senior's assets as we thought, though. My guess is that Junior is laundering his dirty money back into the country by buying up property - probably through shell corporations which he will then buy up personally for cents on the dollar - and then he'll sell the property off again."

"That won't do Arrowsic much good," Laura said dismally.

"Indeed not. But please, Laura. Tell us what you know." Fury nodded infinitesimally at Coulson, who slipped a slim device from his pocket and laid it on the desk in front of her. A red light blinked, indicating, Laura guessed, that it was recording. Uncertain where to begin, she chewed on her lip nervously for a moment, until Clint's hand wrapped gently around hers.

"Start with the first time you met Nicola Bertinelli," he suggested quietly.

The time flew by, all of the agents prompting Laura with questions whenever she paused, and she was astonished to realise how much she actually remembered. Finally, Fury nodded at Coulson, who shut the recording device off.

"May and I will get right on it," he told Fury, and the two of them departed quietly.

Cooper stirred just then, and Fury rocked him absently, stroking his back, staring at Laura with his one,apparently unblinking eye. "We owe you a debt," he said abruptly at last.

"I, um, what?" Laura blinked. "No, no, it's fine."

"Laura," Clint squeezed her hand. "Even if we get Bertinelli because of your information, he still saw your face, or one of his men did. You can't go back. Not ever."

"Ever?" Laura's gaze drifted back and forth between the two men, eventually she slouched back into the chair and scrubbed at her face as she muttered "Where are we supposed to go? Everything I owned was in that house, even the majority of my money was invested in it."

"SHIELD can arrange the sale of your house and get the money back to you clean and untraceable, if that's what you wish," Fury suggested.

"Do you have any family you could stay with?" Clint asked hopefully.

"No, my dad died when I was fifteen. My mom died not long after, she had cancer didn't even make it to Chemotherapy." Laura said wistfully, she swore to herself that she wasn't going to cry as she continued "My mom had no surviving family and my dad's family I think disowned him for knocking up my mom while he was engaged to someone else more suitable to their standards."

"We can relocate you, _both_ of you. Keep you safe, set you up somewhere else with new identities," Fury suggested.

"I get the feeling there is a big condition on that offer, something along the lines of _but you'll never see Barton again_ ," Laura surmised.

"Well that probably would be in the best interest of your safety," Fury admitted but was cut off suddenly by dual protests.

"Not happening," Laura said fiercely.

"Fuck that," Clint snarled vehemently at the same time.

" _But_ , since there are extenuating circumstances, I'm not sure it'd even be possible to keep Barton away from you two. He has an uncanny ability to escape and evade detection and I have no doubt that'd he'd find you wherever we put you," Fury continued matter-of-factly.

Laura spared a glance at Clint who shrugged unrepentantly with a grin as he admitted "You kinda made an impression on me and gave me the one thing I didn't know I wanted, Laura. Of course I'd come find you, the _both_ of you, come hell or high water and regardless of where Fury put you."

Silently contemplating the shit storm her life had become, the apparent shit storm Clint's life _was_ and the fact she had her young son to protect Laura knew she needed more time to think. Looking back to Fury she said cautiously "I may take you up on that offer, but I need more time to figure out some details that will be non negotiable, Nick."

"I'm sure we can work with that, Laura," Fury said with a shrewd grin.

Cooper's familiar snuffling whine told Laura her son was stirring, and was hungry even before Fury lifted the boy from his lap as he rose. Pushing out of the chair Laura moved to take Cooper as Fury addressed Clint "Barton, take Laura somewhere private so she can feed the boy. I'm sure you two also have things to discuss."

"Yes sir," Clint snapped brusquely.

Laura settled Cooper against her shoulder, lightly rubbing his back as she crooned softly, as she was heading towards the door Clint's arm settled around her waist to wordlessly guide her.

"Where are we going?" she asked as they headed back towards the elevator.

"I have quarters here. It's not much, pretty much a bed and bath, but it's clean."

"You sure?" she teased, grinning up at him. "You're not all _that_ tidy around my place."

He tickled her in revenge for that remark, pinning her up against the elevator wall for a thorough kiss until Cooper shouted and banged on his chest.

"Sorry, buddy," Clint pulled back, grinning, just as the doors pinged open and a couple more agents entered. They looked curiously at Cooper, but didn't ask any questions.

 _Clint was right about the room being basic_ , Laura thought, looking around. But he was also right about it being clean. She settled herself quickly on the bed with Cooper, who was beginning to sound seriously enraged, and pulled her top up, sighing with relief as he latched on and the pressure that had been building up in her breast eased.

Clint moved quietly around, tucking a pillow behind her back, fetching a clean hand towel from the bathroom for her to wipe Cooper's mouth, before leaning against the wall and folding his arms to watch her.

"I'm sorry I've stuffed everything up for you," he said after a few moments of silence broken only by Cooper's greedy sucking noises.

Laura smiled up at him, her eyes tender. "You know what, Clint? If I could go back? I wouldn't change a damn thing."

"You wouldn't?" he asked incredulously, his eyes widening slightly in surprise at her statement.

"Of course not," Laura answered softly as she transferred Cooper to her other breast, her free hand patting the beside her as she continued "My life in Arrowsic was boring before that night you walked into my life. You gave me a precious if unexpected gift, though the morning sickness I will hold against you."

His low rumble of laughter as he pushed off the wall and crossed to sit beside her had Laura smirking, jabbing her elbow into his ribs lightheartedly she teased "It's not funny, I couldn't stand the smell or taste of coffee for months."

"Sorry darlin', I wasn't exactly planning on knocking you up that night," he said apologetically, draping his arm around her shoulders so his fingers were brushing lightly against the top of Cooper's head.

"Oh I'm not complaining, it was definitely one of the best nights of my life," Laura said cheekily, leaning into Clint. Picking up the towel she draped it over Clint's shoulder, eased Cooper from her breast and passed him over saying "Do me a favor and burp your son, I need to use the bathroom."

As Clint settled Cooper against his shoulder and began patting his back lightly Laura eased off the bed and into the bathroom, closing the door behind her she made quick use of the toilet. After washing her hands and opening the door Laura stopped in the doorway, Clint had settled onto his back stretched out on the bed with Cooper lying on his chest.

"Okay, so I think my teeth just started rotting from the sugary cute overload there," Laura said despairingly as Clint pretended to nibble on Cooper's tiny fist.

Clint grinned up at her. "You made him, darlin'. I'm blamin' you."

" _We_ made him," she perched her hip on the narrow bed beside him, reaching to rub Cooper's back.

"Don't for a moment think I don't realise you did all the heavy lifting," Clint arched a brow at her. "I just got to have the best night of my life with the most beautiful woman I've ever met, and BAM, a bit more than a year later, surprise, you're an accidental father!"

She blushed and laughed a little. "I would have told you if I'd been able to reach you," she said quietly, reaching to ruffle his short sandy hair.

Freeing an arm, he reached out to cuddle her, and she snuggled into his side, looking up at their son, who promptly got a fit of the giggles as he stared at his parents together.

"This… is everything I never knew I wanted," Clint said quietly. "I will do anything to keep the two of you safe and happy, Laura. _Anything_."

"Just don't do anything reckless or _stupid_ in order to keep us safe okay?" Laura whispered as she lifted one hand to stroke the back of her finger across Cooper's cheek, pulling a face that had him giggling again before she continued "It'd be nice for Cooper to have his father around as he's growing up."

She felt Clint's body tense at her last words, his voice sounding cold and sterile when he spoke "Oh, yeah. I'll always be there for him."

Laura could _hear_ the dejection in Clint's voice, _feel_ it in the way his body tensed beside her. It was then she realised how badly her words had sounded, cursing herself she pressed in closer to his side.

"And what about me?" Laura asked quietly, brushing a kiss against Clint's throat before continuing "I want you in my life too. I do believe I've been falling in love with you since that first night you started stripping in my kitchen."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** Given the recent incident of having been cloned and author's works and profiles being replicated on 5 different websites and supposedly being sold it's entirely possibly that this will be the last fic I post here. I will post my works still at Ao3 under the pen name AlekWalker. I haven't entirely made up my mind on this yet we'll see what happens.

Here is the last chapter of Clint and Laura's origin story and I'm kind of working on a five times segment for them as well. Only have one section done on that so far though so it might be a while.

* * *

Clint woke to empty arms and an empty bed, his first thought had been that it had all been a deliciously wonderful dream, that was right up until he realised he could hear his shower running.

The bathroom door was open, and he could hear - singing? He stealthily slipped off the bed and peeked around the doorframe, to be greeted by the stunning sight of Laura in the shower, holding Cooper in her arms and singing a nonsense tune to him while she washed him. The baby was giggling and wriggling like a soapy eel. Clint grinned to himself. Clearly Laura was having difficulty holding onto him.

"Need a hand, darlin'? He looks like he's giving you trouble."

"And I wonder _where_ he gets that from," Laura quipped as she adjusted her hold on the squirming boy in question.

Stepping into the bathroom Clint grabbed one of the towels on his way to the shower, smirking at Laura as he flicked it open and held his arms out to take Cooper as he said teasingly "When did I _ever_ give you trouble?"

Laura turned, and arched one eyebrow at Clint as she settled their son into the towel in his arms as she considered the best way to answer. When she finally spoke her voice was soft and teasing "Let's see, you knocked me up for starters. Then you came back into my life, which was fine right up until people started trying to kill us."

She stepped from the shower after shutting the water off, and maneouvered around Clint a little self-conscious of his gaze following her nude form. Hastily wrapping one of the towels around herself Laura looked up into the foggy mirror, her gaze instantly drawn to the reflection of Clint's face and the warring emotions there.

"But you know something?" Laura started, turning to face her son and his father with a warm smile as she continued "I wouldn't change a thing."

"You wouldn't?" Clint asked curiously as he closed the distance between them, his son still squirming and giggling in his arms.

"Not a thing," she repeated while pressing a kiss to Clint's cheek she continued "Just look at our beautiful son, if it weren't for you _he_ wouldn't exist and it's entirely possible _I'd_ be dead."

His heart did a strange flip at Laura's words, maybe there was a future here for him with them. Brushing a kiss against Laura's forehead he turned and headed back out of the bathroom, pulling faces at Cooper as he walked.

Cooper's giggles intensified, his small hands reaching up to grab at Clint's face. Clint turned his head slightly to mouth at the fingers of Cooper's hand that wasn't currently tugging at his ear.

"I know, buddy, I need a shave. But I think you need some breakfast first, hmm, and I'd better feed your momma too."

"Him first," Laura said with a smile, settling herself back against Clint's pillows. Soon Cooper was nursing happily and Clint sat down at the end of the bed, watching with fascination. Laura met his eyes and looked away, blushing a little self-consciously.

"Don't be embarrassed," Clint begged. "You, and Cooper - it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He reached out and gently stroked the downy hair curling at the nape of Cooper's neck.

She smiled shyly. "You're good with him. Do you have any experience with babies?"

"Absolutely none," Clint confessed. "But he's beautiful, Laura, and _mine_ , my _son_ … I never - never thought I'd have someone else to be family for me."

"I know," she whispered back, her eyes locked with his. "Me too. I never for one second considered not keeping him, you know."

"Good," Clint said quietly, his fingers still caressing Cooper's hair. He watched silently for a moment as Laura shifted, switched Cooper to the other breast. "What do you want to do, Laura?"

She looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"SHIELD owe you a debt, and I'm afraid your bridges are all burned in Arrowsic. It's a good thing you've got no family because otherwise they'd be in danger too."

Laura sighed and nodded, a little wistful. "It's okay. It was just a place to live. Home is where the heart is, that's what my mother always used to say."

"Exactly," Clint breathed softly, gazing at her. "But - if you had the choice, if you could live anywhere, do anything, what would you want, Laura? Just pretend for a moment that money was no object, that you could have anything you wanted. What would it be?"

She considered as Cooper's suckling slowed, lifted him to her shoulder to pat his back as he released her breast. "A farm."

"A farm?" Clint's eyebrows went up.

"Yeah." She hesitated for a moment, went on. "I grew up on a farm. Apples. In Wisconsin. Dad, though, he fell off a ladder when I was nine. Broke his spine. We sold up - had to, he didn't have medical insurance. He lasted six more years. My mom - just sort of faded, after he died. But she'd been fading since we left the farm. We all had. Sometimes I dream of it. Of the wide views, of the white palings on the verandah, my bike and toys in the dirt in the front yard…"

Clint was watching her in fascination, his eyes wide and soft. "I can give you that. A farm."

"Really?" She asked incredulously, eyes wide and shiny with unshed tears.

"Really," Clint replied quietly, his gaze flicking between the two newest additions to his family. He couldn't stop the low rumbling chuckle that slipped free as Cooper burped loudly before nuzzling into Laura's shoulder, it took him a good minute to get his chuckles under control in order to continue "A farm is a wonderful idea actually, both for Cooper to grow up on and your protection. It'd offer you both anonymity and seclusion from prying eyes, though to be safe I'd teach you how to use a firearm. You know, just in case."

"Just in case?" Laura repeated in hushed tones, Cooper drowsily playing with her damp hair.

"Yeah, in case anyone comes looking for me while I'm not there," Clint said without pause. Though the slight hitch to Laura's breath had a knot forming in his gut as he hastily added "I mean, that is, if you still want me in your lives?"

Not wanting to witness her possible rejection Clint forced his eyes shut, his heart likely wouldn't survive in one piece if the mother of his child rejected him even if it was done in order to protect their son.

He felt the mattress shift, his son soon placed in his arms which seemed to move almost instinctively to cradle Cooper protectively against his chest. His first thought was that Laura was letting him hold his son for the last time, his mouth settled automatically on the crown of Cooper's head.

"Oh, Clint," he could hear the sadness in Laura's voice, the slight quake in her voice as she wrapped her arms around his midsection and continued "Honey, who has hurt you so badly that you think I'm going to take Cooper and run at any given moment?"

That - didn't sound like a goodbye. He forced his eyes open, saw her kneeling beside him, one slender hand lifting to touch his unshaven cheek.

"Everybody I've ever let myself care about."

Clint saw the anger cross Laura's features, lips pulling taut as her eyes darkened. As her hand settled against his cheek he leant into the touch, his head turning slightly so he could press a kiss to the inside of her wrist as the soft lilt of her voice broke the silence.

"Not anymore," Laura said without hesitation, her voice soft yet firm daring him to challenge her words . "Cooper and I are _yours_. For as long as you want us, even then I doubt you'd get rid of us easily. Cooper is quite fond of you and I may be falling just a little bit more in love with you each passing moment I see you two together."

The sudden knock on the door of his quarters dragged Clint out of the moment, his senses all automatically going on alert. Handing Cooper back to Laura he eased off the bed, placing one finger over his mouth in a gesture for silence he cocked his head towards the bathroom.

Thankfully Laura got his intentions, he watched her ease off the bed and slip silently back into the bathroom closing the door partly behind her. He crept on still bare feet to the door, for a moment or two he simply listened trying to determine who was banging on his door at such an early hour.

"Barton, open the door! I _know_ you're lurking in there," May snapped irritably, even as her fist once again began its staccato pounding.

One hand settled on the lock and twisted as the other wrenched the handle to pull the door open; sparing the briefest of glances along the hall in either direction Clint then locked his gaze onto May.

"About time, if you didn't open the door soon I was going to break it down," May huffed as she pushed her way in past him, calling "Laura, I brought you some clean clothes."

"By all means, come on in," Clint said sarcastically as he closed the door again.

"Don't be a smart ass, Barton. Laura _needed_ clean clothes and the way I figure it, you two have things to discuss and organise. You also need to take her to the cafeteria to get some breakfast before your meeting with Coulson at ten."

It'd taken Coulson very little time at all to find a farm that had filled not only Laura's wants but Clint's needs. Within a week she'd been presented with a package of documents that had consisted of a new identity, a deed to the farm in her name alone, access to a joint bank account with a significant sum of money in it, and keys.

The farm house had needed a lot of work done to it but neither Clint, nor Laura had wanted complete strangers in their new home and had opted to do the work themselves, Clint was surprisingly good with his hands as Laura had soon found out.

So while he'd handled the manual labour, she'd handled the painting and decorating. Coulson, God bless him, had taken it upon himself to handle the whole furniture situation, though Laura suspected May had also had a hand in it.

Three long, arduous months later and the house had been done, finished, completed to what Laura had considered perfection. That was right up until Clint had come home from a particularly bad mission and had promptly begun to demolish the downstairs bathroom.

She'd left him to it, having learnt over the last few months when Clint wanted to talk and when he _needed_ to be left alone. If he needed to talk he'd find her, she was never far from the house while Cooper was sleeping.

The creak of the screen door followed by the gentle bang of it closing dragged Laura from her thoughts, looking up from the patch of dirt she'd been prepping and contemplating just in time to see Clint stalking off the porch.

As she stretched her arms over her head while rising Laura winced as the muscles in her her back pulled taut, rolling her shoulders as her arms dropped she absent mindedly wiped her dirty hands across the pair of old jeans she wore.

Cocking her head slightly to stretch her neck Laura took the opportunity to look Clint over, head to toe as he closed the distance between them. There was something off about the picture as a whole, his face was deceptively blank, his shoulders and torso rigid as she called out "Clint, is everything okay?"

"No," Clint growled brusquely, his arms lifting to cross over his chest as he looked down to her.

That tone was definitely one Laura had never heard before and she couldn't quite pinpoint the emotion behind it, and Clint's face was giving nothing away either; he could be just as deadpan as Coulson when he wanted to.

Laura had to fight down the urge to take a step backwards, instead she straightened her back, planted her hands on her hips and stared up at Clint's face, her mouth dropping into a puzzled frown as she asked "Any chance you're going to tell me what seems to have crawled up your ass?"

"Rumlow asked me about you, seems to think you're my sister?"

 _Rumlow_? Who the hell was that? Laura pondered until something in Clint's tone registered through her confusion, he was _jealous_. Too distracted by that discovery she completely missed the fact Clint had been speaking to her again, that was until he frustratedly threw his arms in the air and turned to storm off.

Her hand shot out, grabbed hold of Clint's wrist and tugged lightly until he turned back to face her, swallowing to moisten her suddenly dry throat she quietly asked "I'm sorry, I missed that. Could you repeat it?"

"Marry me?" Clint blurted suddenly.

Laura blinked at that. She really hadn't been prepared for that and given the way Clint's free hand was scrubbing nervously at the back of his neck she guessed he hadn't expected to blurt that particular question out there.

"Clint, we're already married according to the paperwork Coulson gave me," Laura started only to be cut off as Clint spoke.

"That's fake married, I'm talking real married. Granted I can't give you the whole big dream wedding thing given the circumstance, but I want to make this real. I don't want to be jealous or worried that you're interested in other men."

Taking a step forward Laura reached her free hand up to Clint's cheek, her voice soft and caring as she stated "Honey, whoever this Rumlow is, I don't recall him. For the record, the only men I'm interested in are you and Cooper."

"Well he remembered _you_ , says he met you in the cafeteria months ago," Clint growled softly.

 _Now_ Laura recalled who he was referring to. When Clint had left for his meeting with Coulson, May had joined her in the Cafeteria; minus Cooper.

They'd been enjoying tea and quietly chatting when two broad shouldered men decked out in black cargo pants and t-shirts that fit snugly had approached them.

She'd stayed silent as Rumlow had introduced himself and Rollins to her, her gaze had remained on May. Though from the slight frown on her face and the sensation of her skin crawling Laura had assumed they'd been not so discreetly checking her out.

When May had risen snapping a quick _'we've got places to be, Barton,"_ she'd quickly risen and followed.

Laura could only assume that the two men had jumped to the conclusion that she was Clint's sister.

"Clint," Laura sighed softly while lifting her free hand to his cheek before continuing "I didn't speak to him, he spoke _at_ me, and May referred to me as Barton to get me out of there. You have nothing to be jealous of, there's only one man I want and he's standing right in front of me."

"And in answer to your earlier question, if the offer is still available; yes I will marry you."

The look of shocked disbelief that spread across his face had Laura laughing out loud momentarily, that was until he'd snatched her up into his arms and began spinning them around. She was giddy and clinging to him, still laughing with delight when he stopped a wide smile gracing his face as his head dipped to kiss her sweetly.

"I'll be forever grateful to Coulson to sending me to your safehouse that night," Clint murmured, resting his forehead against hers. "I found so much more than a safe haven. I found everything I never even knew I wanted."


End file.
